Daughters of Jack
by LT Rex Cole
Summary: Samurai Jack's drive to continue on against all odds have been slipping from him gradually with every passing day. However, when he stumbles on seven little girls who require someone to take care of them and protect them from the harsh world, Jack rediscovers the purpose he previously had to keep on going. (Samurai Dad AU) [WILL SOON BE REVIVED AND REBOOTED]
1. Chapter 1: First Meeting

**Hello everyone, I'm back with another story. This is something that was one my mind for quite a while, especially after seeing a lot of AU fanart of Jack being a father to the Daughters of Aku. So, what this story is about is that Jack manages to stumble upon the lair of the Cult of Aku when the Daughters are still very young. Upon seeing that they have nowhere to go, Jack makes a choice to adopt them as his own. As such, read on to find out what happens.**

" _Gotta get back. Back to the past._ "

Those were the words that would echo through Jack's mind constantly, as his one goal was to make it back to the past to slay Aku, the demon who had destroyed his homeland and who made the world the way it was. Unfortunately, by this point, his will to go on was gradually slipping away from him, due to some unfortunate circumstances that had befallen him. Firstly, his sword, the only weapon who could defeat Aku for good, had been lost in a pit during a fight with some goats that Aku forcefully mutated into monsters. Secondly, to Jack's knowledge, every single time portal had been destroyed by Aku, leaving the Samurai with no way to get back home. Finally, with the loss of his sword and the absence of any remaining time portals in the world, Jack felt himself wanting to have everything just end. This wasn't helped by the fact that he never aged, thanks to Aku sending him into future, and that Jack's mental state was slowly deteriorating, causing him to experience hallucinations, which consisted of versions of himself mocking his every action and the screams of the many men, women, and children that he had failed to save.

As of now, Jack was driving on his newly acquired motorcycle, which he had taken from a fallen bounty hunter, through the forest while also trying his best to rid himself of any negative thoughts. Besides the new form of transportation, there were more things that were different about the Samurai. His white robe was long gone, instead replaced with samurai armor, which was also acquired from one of Aku's robotic bounty hunters. Additionally, a beard had grown on his face, with Jack not even caring enough to shave it off, instead leaving it to grow and his long hair hung freely underneath his helmet, as he had lost the pin which held it together many years ago.

Besides the changes to his attire and appearance, Jack had a new assortment of weapons on him as well. They consisted of a trident, throwing knives, a pistol which was holstered on his chest, a machine gun that was being carried by the motorcycle, and explosives, all taken from fallen bounty hunters. Considering that his sword was long gone, the least Jack could do was grab any weapon he could snag for himself to use as replacements, even if they didn't pack the same power or punch that his sword did. Despite being armed to the teeth currently, a paranoia often settled inside the Samurai's mind, which was Aku ambushing him unexpectedly and killing him with ease, even though the Shapeshifting Master of Darkness hadn't shown his face in years. Shaking his head, Jack tried to keep his head clear and not let any negative feelings or thoughts impact his judgement and thus, his actions.

" _Nice ride you have here, where are we going?_ "

Looking back, Jack saw a hallucination of himself sitting right behind him, as if he was a passenger. Groaning, Jack turned back around and focused on the path in front of him.

"I have no time for you." He told his hallucination, "Don't even bother saying anything."

" _Time._ " The hallucination repeated, " _Yes, time. Something that is gradually slipping away from you!_ "

"Is that what you think?"

" _That's something you should be thinking!_ " The hallucination snapped, " _Every waking moment you spend has the possibility of Aku finding out that you don't have your sword!_ "

Jack narrowed his eyes in annoyance, trying to focus on the road.

" _You should feel lucky!_ " The hallucination continued, " _Had Aku stuck around to watch you kill those goats, you'd be dead right now._ "

"Quiet." Jack snapped, not wanting to relive those memories.

" _I see that you don't care about what I'm saying. Very well, I'm not even going to bother telling you what you don't care to hear._ "

With that, the hallucination vanished, as if he was never there, leaving Jack alone to his own thoughts. Soon, he noticed that he had left the forest and was now driving through a nearly treeless field, with a large structure becoming clearly evident to Jack's eyes as he got closer to it. Stopping his bike, he examined the structure, which appeared to be some sort of mountain, albeit modified to house someone. Stroking his beard, Jack suddenly wondered if it housed a time portal or something similar, giving him some optimism that maybe some still remained in the world. Hopping off his bike, Jack grabbed his trident and slowly walked up to the large structure. However, as he got closer, he heard raised voices and noticed a crack in the wall. Peeking in, Jack's eyes widened at what he saw.

 **The Cult of Aku's Lair**

Unbeknownst to Jack, inside the large structure was the Cult of Aku, formed by a group of people who saw Aku as the benevolent force while Jack to them was the evil force destroying the infrastructure that the Shapeshifting Master of Darkness had spent eons building up. Seeing how their master always had difficulty taking out the Samurai, despite the many bounty hunters that he had sent after him, the Cult wanted to do something to help. After learning that the Samurai received training in various martial arts from all around the world, the Cult sought to do the same, with the High Priestess giving birth to seven girls that they would train to match the Samurai in skill and to kill him.

As of now, the girls, whose names were Ashi, Aki, Ali, Ami, Amori, Avi, and Anzi, were performing martial arts stances completely in unison as one of their morning exercises, while the High Priestess, who was perched up high on a high wall, watching them. The Daughters of Aku finished up this exercise but Ashi had struck the wrong stance. Seeing this, the High Priestess jumped down from her spot in front of Ashi and hit her with her cane, knocking her to the ground.

"Any mistake is certain death." She told her daughters, "And death is our failure."

Waiting for Ashi to get up, the High Priestess watched the girl head back to her position.

"Now, we'll be doing something different." The High Priestess continued, "Get ready for your next test."

Seeing their mother jump out of sight, the Daughters of Aku were confused by what she meant. However, they soon realized what she meant when a large and burly cult member stepped in front of them and let out a mighty growl. Suddenly, the cult member grabbed Aki and slammed her to the ground. Putting on a determined face, Ali tried to attack her, only to get knocked down as well. Ashi, Ami, Amori, and Anzi jumped into the fray as well, only to receive the same punishment as their sisters. Hitting the wall and landing against the ground, Ashi noticed something shining out of a crack in the wall, which immediately made her curious. Slipping away unnoticed, she ran into a small open space where the shiny thing emitted from and looked out the crack in the wall. What she saw caused her eyes to widen.

She saw a man with a beard and armor get off some sort of machine with that had two wheels and start looking around. She had no idea what to make of him, with her inner feelings telling her that he was the Samurai that her mother told her about.

"Bask in the glory of what our master created."

Turning around nervously, Ashi saw the High Priestess slowly walk up to her.

"Admire it's beauty, but know that the Samurai is out there leaving a wake of devastation wherever he goes!" She continued.

Remembering the man outside, Ashi wondered if she should tell her mother about him as she stepped out of the place where she was previously standing.

"That's why, my sweet Ashi…" The High Priestess told her, talking in a kind tone and kneeling down, "The daughters of Aku must stay focused, never relent, _always attack_."

Grabbing onto Ashi, she threw her daughter into the vicinity of the large Cult member.

"Teach this one a lesson." The High Priestess ordered.

Abiding by the order, the Cult member picked Ashi up and began to pummel her in the face. Peeking in, Jack's eyes widened at what he saw. Some woman with a mask and large cloak was watching another woman that was bigger beat up a small child. Angered, Jack got out his explosives and blew up the wall. Hearing the wall behind her shatter, the High Priestess turned around to see a figure wielding a trident rush at her.

"What is the-"

Hitting her with end of his trident, Jack knocked the woman out, with her falling to the ground and shattering the mask on her face in the process. With her being taken care of, Jack focused his attention on the woman who was pummeling on the girl. Letting out a yell, Jack plunged his trident into her abdomen, causing the brute to emit a pained scream and drop the girl, who ran away to huddle in fear with the rest of her sisters. Seeing blood emit from the brute, Jack gained a shocked expression, with the flashback of him killing those goats playing over and over again in his head.

Seeing that he was distracted by something, the brute reeled back and punched Jack in the face, which knocked him back a couple feet, knocked off his helmet, and unlodged the trident from her abdomen, Clutching it for a few moments, the brute felt like she was ready to continue and charged for Jack, letting out a guttural roar. Getting up from the ground, Jack wiped the blood off his face and prepared to counter the brute currently charging him. Although the sight of blood emitting from his foe fazed him initially, he realized that it wasn't time to feel pity for something that he did long ago. Additionally, this was an abuser of children that he was taking on rather than three innocent goats that were forcibly transformed into monsters.

Getting into a battle stance, Jack leapt into the air just as the brute was about to grab him. Activating the shock function of his trident, he hit her with it, causing the large woman to yell in agonizing pain. Seeing that she was ready to be taken down, Jack plunged his trident through her chest, killing her. Ripping it out, Jack sighed as he watched the brute bleed into the floor. Although he accepted in that short time frame that he would need to kill to protect the girls, it still filled him with guilt of having to take another life, especially a human's. Shaking his head to rid himself of these thoughts, Jack noticed the girls huddled in a corner. Heading over to them, Jack looked at the little girls, who fearfully looked back up at him.

"Are you okay, little girls?" Jack asked, kneeling down to reach their height.

They didn't respond, only shaking and whimpering in fear upon being face to face with the Samurai. He may have stopped the abuse of their mother, but they also remembered the tales that she would them of Jack being a evil monster who destroyed and pillaged anything in his way. Seeing him take out the large cult member with ease only made those tales ring truer. Being confused by the lack of response from the girls, Jack assumed that the abuse they took had been happening for a while and as a result, it impacted their ability to do anything like having a conversation.

"What is going down there?!" Someone yelled out.

Turning around, Jack saw more women with masks and cloaks jump down from places that he could not see. They first looked at the High Priestess and the now dead brute, before looking at each other. Nodding to themselves, the cultists drew their weapons and immediately charged for Jack.

"YOU WILL DIE HERE, SAMURAI!"

Time slowed down as Jack watched the cultists rush for him, with many thoughts and emotions surging through him. He looked at the approaching cultists before shifting his gaze to the little girls huddled up against the wall. As he did, the screams of the men, women, and children he had failed to save resumed, causing many emotions to surge through the troubled warrior.

" _Now look what your actions have done._ "

Jack didn't even have to turn around to know who that was, sensing the presence of his hallucination behind him.

" _Thanks to your actions, these children will now die because of decided to save them._ " His hallucination told him, " _They may have lived longer if you just ignored what you heard._ "

Knowing what he would say next would distress Jack immensely, Jack's hallucination let a jagged smile creep on his face.

" _Even then, you maybe would've just ended up killing them in the end._ " He continued, " _Feels awful, doesn't it? No matter how much good you do, you do equal amounts of bad as well. It's all pointle-_ "

Shaking his head, Jack shook off the hallucinations and regained his bearings. He knew that he had made mistakes in the past, mistakes which costed the lives of those he was meant to save. As of now, with the cultists growing closer by the second, Jack let a furious expression creep on his face, wanting to prove his hallucination wrong.

"NO!" Jack yelled, rushing into battle.

Using his trident to block a sword slash, Jack used that time to kick that cultist in the stomach and slash her across her chest, putting her out of commission. Next, Jack blocked the attacks of two cultist wielding Sai's and a spiked bat, stabbing one through her chest and killing the other by jump kicking her in the face, which caused her neck to crack. Landing back on the ground, Jack dodged several arrows fired at him. Growling, he pulled out his pistol and shot her in the face, causing the cultist to fall from her perch and crush several other of her fellow cultists. The battle continued on, with a now bloody Jack doing his best to defend the little girls. No matter how long the battle went, no matter how many cultists appeared to do battle with him, Jack couldn't give up. Letting out a yell, Jack used his recently acquired spiked bat to put another cultist out of commision after striking her in the face with it. Ducking underneath a thrown knife, Jack retaliated with one of his own, striking the cultist right in her eye. Watching her collapse to the ground, Jack shook his head in disgust and started heading back to the girls.

"SAMURAI JACK!"

Jack, upon hearing this, immediately got into a battle stance in front of the girls as he watched the woman that he knocked out before get back up. The High Priestess, upon seeing the bodies of the her fellow cultists, she let a angry expression slowly creep onto her face,

"You dare defile the sacred shrine of Aku?!"

Hearing the name of his sworn enemy resonate through his mind, Jack let his trademark look show up on his face.

"Aku?!" 

"He is the lord and master of this world and everything in this world!" She ranted, pointing at the girls, "Including them!"

Looking back at the little girls, Jack saw them whimper in fear as they huddled together. Looking back at the High Priestess, Jack let out a angry growl.

"They are not soldiers!" He angrily told her, "They are innocent children!"

"They were to be the instruments of your destruction!"

Panting in disgust, the High Priestess shut her eyes, feeling many thoughts of how things happened to not go the way flow through her mind.

"However, it seems that it's too late for that." She said, reopening her eyes, "I'll have to deal with you myself."

Taking off her cloak, the High Priestess it fall to the ground, revealing her slim, yet firm form. Grabbing two daggers from the ground, the High Priestess got into a battle stance, with Jack doing the same. Staring each other down for a few moments, they sprinted towards each other at the same time, while the Daughters of Aku watched, not knowing who they should be rooting for. When they closed the distance between them, Jack and the High Priestess jumped in the air at the same time, preparing to strike at each other with their weapons. Swinging their weapons at the same time, the two landed back on the ground.

Nothing happened for a few moments, with the Daughters of Aku being unsure on what to think. Suddenly, Jack felt a bit of blood seeping out of his arm, with him hissing at the stinging feeling of the wound. As for the High Priestess, she initially appeared to have gotten out unscathed after that little clash, as she got up with little to no trouble afterwards, while Jack was still kneeled on the ground. However, she suddenly felt something sting horribly on her stomach. Looking down, she saw a large, gaping hole which cut into her abdomen, while also seeping out blood. Dropping her weapons, she clutched her wound and staggered back and forth, trying to keep steady.

Unfortunately for her, the High Priestess couldn't keep her balance and fell to the ground, coughing up blood. Knowing that she had been bested by the Samurai and that she would die soon, the High Priestess simply shut her eyes and let a single tear roll down her face.

"My… master… Aku." She coughed, feeling her strength fade away, "Please, forgive me… for… my… failure."

With that, the High Priestess was no more, joining her fellow cultists in the afterlife and having her corpse continue to stain the ground with her blood. Jack, watching this, simply shook his head in disgust and limped over to the children, who looked up at him curiously. Kneeling down, Jack let out a sigh.

"It's okay, they won't hurt you little ones anymore." He told them, "Come, let's leave this horrible place." Jack said, holding out a hand.

The Daughters of Aku simply looked at him, still feeling a little frightened of Jack, especially since he was now covered in blood.

"I… I understand that what I did may have frightened you." He said, speaking in a soft tone, "However, whoever those women made me out to be, they were all lies."

The girls gave each other confused looks but continued listening to Jack's explanation.

"None of you deserved what they did to you." He continued, "All that matters now is that we leave this place to get to one of safety. Please, I promise that I won't hurt you, I have no intention of doing it anyways." Jack coaxed, hoping that they would believe, although he had some doubts.

The little girls looked at each other, wanting to see if they all trusted the Samurai. Even though they had doubts about him, the Daughters of Aku had seen him defend them multiple times and realized that he chose to that when he could've killed them at any given moment instead.

"Okay." Ashi replied softly.

Nodding in response, Jack grabbed onto the little girls and carried them out of the Cult of Aku's lair. Stopping by his motorcycle, Jack placed his helmet back on his head and strapped the seven girls onto the bike as tight as he could, as he didn't want to have them flying off it as he drove. Sitting onto the bike, Jack started it up and drove away from the former home of the little girls.

 **Later**

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, with Jack and the girls doing nothing besides resting at the makeshift shelter that he made. Considering that he took some damage to himself and his armor, Jack took the time to patch himself and it back together, as well as spending time tending to the injuries of the little girls. As of now, it was nightfall and thus, dinner time for Jack. Getting out a meal from his inventory, he started a fire and began cooking it. As he did this, Jack noticed the girls staring at him, as if they were still unsure if they still should trust him. Sighing, the Samurai looked back at his food and saw that it was ready. Cooling it, he teared out seven portion of the meal and handed to each of the little girls, who began eating it silently. Chewing into his food, Jack realized that a lingering thought was still going through his mind and thus, decided to say it.

"Um… do you know the place where you came from?"

The Daughters of Aku stopped eating and gave confused glances towards the Samurai and each other.

"I mean…" Jack paused, wanting to clarify his question, "Where is the location of your home?" He asked, hoping they'd understand, "The place that you lived in before those women took you to that cave."

"That… that was our home." Aki said.

"We lived there for our whole life." Ami added.

"I… I'm sorry." He replied, being at a loss for words.

"But… but you saved us!" Avi told him, smiling.

Jack smiled at that, something he rarely did nowadays. Even though he lost faith in himself, he was glad to have been able to have a positive impact on someone.

"In that case, you're welcome." He said, smiling back, "If I may ask, what are your names?"

"I'm Ashi!" She said.

"I'm Aki!"

"I'm Ali"

"I'm Ami!"

"I'm Amori!"

"I'm Avi!"

"And I'm Anzi!"

"I'm Jack." He replied.

"Are you going to take care of us, now?" Amori asked.

That question hit Jack like a ton of bricks. It was one thing to save these girls from the horrible life they had been living. However, taking care of them afterwards was whole other thing entirely, especially since Jack was wanted by many bounty hunters and thus, he knew that there was a chance that they would use them against him. Despite this, he knew he couldn't just abandon the girls at some orphanage or in the care of some random individual who probably wouldn't treat them well. Processing these facts, Jack came to a decision, albeit with some reluctance.

"Yes, I'll take care of you." He told them.

"YAY!" They cheered, running up to hug Jack.

Caught off guard by the girls hugging him, Jack nonetheless smiled at this and hugged them back. Once they all pulled back, the girls yawned at the same time, with Jack realizing what the time was.

"Alright, it is time for you girls to go to bed." Jack told them, grabbing them a blanket.

"Okay." They all replied.

"Good night and sweet dreams."

"Good night, Jack."

"Tucking" them in, Jack watched as the little girls drifted off to sleep. Smiling as he saw them do this, the Samurai felt a feeling that was foreign creep into him, although he welcomed.

" _What have you done?!_ "

Hearing a familiar voice, Jack turned his head to see his hallucination stand over him with an angry expression on his face.

"Go away." Jack told him.

" _NO! I SHALL NOT!_ " The hallucinated yelled, " _It was bad enough that we had to worry about ourselves but now, you go ahead and decide to adopt some children!_ "

"What was I supposed to do?!" He replied, "Leave them in the forest to starve or be murdered?"

" _Anything would've been better than taking them in your care!_ _Do you really wish to take care of seven brats and thus, burden yourself with the issue of keeping them safe?!_ "

"I suppose."

The hallucination grew a scowl and shook his head in response.

" _I hope you are proud of what of you did today because it'll bring your undoing._ "

With that, his hallucination, leaving Jack in a somewhat stable frame of mind once again. Feeling his eyes droop, the Samurai let out a yawn and soon, he fell asleep as well, joining the little girls in dreamland.

 **And that's the first chapters, ladies and gents, hope you enjoyed it. Credit to Xenomaster on deviantart for coming up with the names of the Daughters of Aku and the basic premise, hope you don't mind that I borrowed part of your little impromptu chapter. Next up, Jack will find himself attempting to adjust to the life of surviving and avoiding bounty hunters due to having seven little girls with him right now. Anyways, it's really late at the moment of this writing and just like Jack and the Daughter of Aku, I'm going to hit the hay. Thanks 4 reading everybody, check back for more chapters, Lt-RexCole out.**


	2. Chapter 2: Troubles

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story. Previously, Jack's life was changed when he adopted the Daughters of Aku after he saved them. What's going to happen next is that the girls will get a change of appearance and Jack will discover that the bounty on his head will bring more difficulties his way. Read on to find out what happens.**

 _Jack grunted as he blocked another sword strike from the cultist, who was unrelenting in her attacks. Having enough of this, Jack rolled under her next sword swing and stabbed her through the heart when he got behind her. Ripping out his trident from her body, Jack turned his attention to the remaining cultists in front of him. Blocking a sword strike, Jack moved his attacker's arm out of the way and stabbed her through her stomach. Seeing a archer in the distance prepare her bow and arrow, the Samurai ripped out his weapon from the corpse and turned his attention to her. Dodging several arrows, Jack grabbed his pistol and fired several shots at her. Clutching her wounded areas, the cultist lost her balance and fell from her perch, breaking her neck in the process. Aiming for the last two cultists, Jack fired into their skulls, with brain matter and blood flying out of their heads as they collapsed._

 _Sighing, Jack holstered his weapon and turned back to the little girls. However, to his shock and terror, they were all dead. They all had their throats slit and their cold dead eyes stared up at nothing._

" _NOOO!" Jack cried, falling to his knees, not being able to believe that he failed to save someone yet again._

 _Feeling the guilt begin to creep into him, Jack hung his head in shame and started muttering to himself, chastising his failure._

" _Samurai… Jack…"_

 _Gasping, Jack looked behind him and saw the cultists that he killed get up, However, due to being recently killed by Jack, they all resembled undead corpses. They stood in place quietly for a while, with the Samurai being unsure on what to think or how to react. Suddenly, they all pointed at him._

" _MURDERER!" They all screamed, "MURDERER! MURDERER!"_

" _No… NO! I WAS PROTECTING THEM!" Jack shouted, pointing at the dead corpses of the children._

" _MURDERER!" They continued to scream._

 _Covering his ears, Jack tried his hardest to block out the sound of the cultists. As he did this, the crying of the little girls started playing his head, with it growing louder by the second. Shutting his eyes, he wished for it to end._

" _Looks like you little decision worked against you!"_

 _Looking up slowly, Jack saw his hallucination standing over him. However, he looked more jagged and unhinged than usual._

 _"You always thought you were smart, hm?" The hallucination taunted, "Making the choice of adopting seven little girls out of the kindness of your own heart without much thought or debate."_

 _Jack processed these facts, trying to deny it._

" _Heh, pathetic. Did you not realize what the consequences of that was?!" He asked, grinning maliciously, "Your first human kills attest to that as well."_

" _No! I was protecting them!" Jack replied, trying to make a case for himself, "I was keeping them save from those-"_

" _Animals? Psychopaths? After your actions, you might as fall into the same group as them!"_

 _Jack shook his head in disbelief at this notion, trying his best to remind himself that he killed to protect someone. However, the more he did that, the more the guilt of taking a person's life grew. Suddenly, Jack heard the noise of a horse neighing and felt a green light envelop him. Looking up, he saw a ominous figure sitting on his steed. At the sight of him, it filled Jack with something that he hadn't felt since he lost his sword._

 _Fear._

 **The Real World**

With a startle and a scream, Jack woke up from his nightmare. Getting up quickly, he grabbed the machine gun off his parked motorcycle and began aiming it everywhere, searching for any threats that would be willing to hurt him and the girls. However, Jack soon saw that there were no threats and he realized that he got all jumpy for no reason. With that, he turned around and put the large gun back on the motorcycle.

"Jack?"

Hearing a voice say his name, the Samurai looked down to see Ashi sitting up and curiously looking up at him, while also clutching the blanket to her chest. Jack sighed, silently berating himself for acting liking a fool in front of a child.

"Um… hello… Ashi.." He told her awkwardly, kneeling down, "Did you sleep well?" 

"Yeah…" She replied, with her face being in a frown.

"Is something the matter?"

"Are… are you okay?" Ashi asked.

"How… how do you mean?"

Ashi looked down for a bit, trying to not offend Jack with what she would say next.

"You… you were talking when you were sleeping." She said, "And… and you screamed and got up and you looked scared and…

"Yes, I know." He replied, shutting his eyes for a bit, "However, you don't need to worry about me. I'm fine, honest. It was just a bad dream." Jack told her.

"Okay…" She replied, not entirely believing him.

At that moment, the rest of the girls slowly but surely begun to wake up.

"Hi Jack!" Amori said, smiling at him.

"Hello, Amori." Jack responded, trying to sound as friendly as possible to them, "Have you girls slept well?"

"Yeah!" They all, minus Ashi, replied.

"Good to hear."

As the girls got up from the ground and stretched, Jack took the time to grab the blanket and put it back in the spot where he got it from.

"Jack?" Avi asked.

"Yes?"

"What are we gonna do today?"

Taking note of the question, Jack looked down at the Daughters of Aku and saw that the only piece of clothing they had were the black suits that currently wore.

"Well, the first thing that we will do is head into the city to pick up some supplies."

"The city?" Ali asked nervously.

"Yes." Jack answered, noticing her nervous tone, "What's wrong?" He questioned, concerned at the little girls' nervous shaking.

"We… we never been to the city." Ashi replied, scared at the thought of going somewhere foreign to her.

Jack burrowed his brow at that mention, realizing that due to be raised in complete isolation, the girls had no experience with interacting with the world, which left Jack with another thing that he had to worry about. Kneeling down to match their height, he knew that he had to let them know that everything would be alright.

"I understand that it may be frightening to you." He said softly, "However, I'll be with you at _all_ times. Don't worry, you'll be safe, I promise."

The Daughters of Aku slowly nodded their heads. Smiling, Jack stood up and turned back to his motorcycle, trying to remember what to else he needed.

"Anyways, I'm also going to get you all some new clothes!" Jack said, "You don't have to wear those suits anymore."

Looking at each other in confusion, the girls could not understand what Jack said to them.

"Clothes?" Aki asked.

"What are clothes?" Ali asked.

"What? You don't know what clothes are?" He asked incredulously, turning around to face them.

The Daughters of Aku all shook their heads.

"Then… what are you wearing?"

They looked down, remembering how they got the appearance they currently had.

"Um…" Ashi stammered.

 **A While Ago, The Cult of Aku's Lair**

" _Aku, our lord and master is one with the darkness." The High Priestess told her daughters, "He was born from it. It fills him with infinite power."_

 _Inside the deepest depths of the Cult of Aku's lair, there lay burning hot coals, with the purpose of them being a way for the cult to show tribute to Aku by coating themselves in the hot ash, causing them to resemble him in his color scheme. As of now, the High Priestess had brought the Daughters of Aku over to this part of their home to begin the next step of their training, which was to give them the same ash coating that they all wore in order to honor their lord and master. As of now, the girls were wrapped in blankets, which was the only thing that they had worn at that point, and nervously looked down at the steaming hot coals below their perch._

" _We too must become with it!" The High Priestess continued, pulling the blanket off Ashi, leaving her naked._

 _Ashi tried to cover herself as best she could and shook nervously, being scared of what would happen next._

" _We are forever grateful and ever in your service."_

 _Moving her cane towards Ashi, the High Priestess used it to push her daughter off the perch and watched her fall into the coals below. After a few seconds, Ashi emerged from the pile, covered head to toe in ash and screaming in pain, agony, and terror._

 **Present Day**

Jack stared in shock, with his jaw dropping in disbelief as Ashi finished up her explanation of how their skin got charred by the hot burning coal. To his knowledge, the black appearance of the cultists and the little girls were just the result of them wearing black skintight suits. However, upon hearing the truth, the Samurai had to try his hardest to not out right explode in anger at what the cultists did. Seeing that there was a pretty large pond to his right, Jack decided to put of his city trip to the side for the time being.

"All of you. Follow." He told the girls, taking Ashi by the hand.

Going over to the pond, Jack checked to see if it was shallow enough for the girls to be in without the danger of drowning. Taking off his upper armor, Jack grabbed some rocks from the ground and waded into the water, motioning them to follow. However, they seemed intimidated by the idea of going into the pond and thus, simply stood in place and looked at the water waringly.

"Don't be nervous, the water won't hurt you, see?" He told them, splashing his arm with water, showing that nothing would happen if it came in contact with them.

With this new knowledge, the only the girls would have to do is wade into the water to get to Jack, who was closeby. Wanting to see who would go first, it eventually turned out to be Ashi, who although initially recoiled at the cold and wet feeling of the water, slowly but surely made her way into the pond and over to Jack. This convinced the rest of the girls that it was fine and they were soon in the water as well. However, they looked confused when Jack handed each of them some rocks.

"What's this?" Ashi asked.

"It's a rock, which you'll use to scrape off that ash." He explained.

"How?" Ali asked.

"Like this."

Taking Ashi's arm in his hand, Jack began using the rock to scrape off the ash embedded in her skin, moving it back and forth gently, as he didn't want to hurt her during his demonstration. When he stopped, Jack noticed that there were was a noticeable difference, as the area where he scraped revealed more of Ashi's natural skin tone than before. With that, the girls understood and began using their rocks to scrape off the ash. It was no easy feat, due to it basically being a second layer of skin. However, despite it taking a while, all the ash had been scraped off and the girls walked out of the pond, with no black charred skin in sight.

"Can we go to the city, now?!" Aki asked.

"Um… not at the moment." Jack replied awkwardly, "I first need to find you suitable… attire."

"Where?" Anzi questioned.

Looking around the forest that they currently were in, the Samurai noticed the large flora in the area, which was big enough to cover a small child if they were crafted in a certain way. Stroking his beard, Jack suddenly got an idea. Grabbing as many large leaves, flowers, and plants as he could, he put his long neglected crafting skills to use. Although it took a while to make the improvised clothing pieces, as the size of a makeshift dress didn't really compare to a single hat made out of straw, Jack soon presented them to the Daughters of Aku, who accepted them gleefully.

As of now, their appearances were drastically different compared to the ones they had when they were in the cultists' care. The girls appreciated what Jack did for them, as proven by their hugs and their repeated "thank yous".

"Please, don't think nothing of it." Jack replied, smiling nonetheless.

After they pulled back, Jack noticed that the sun was in the process of going down over the horizon, although it was only still the middle of the day. Realizing that'd he'd need to get what he needed from the city as soon as possible, Jack put his upper armor and helmet on and started up his bike.

"Are we going to the city now?" Anzi asked.

"We are. I promise that we will only be there for a short time." Jack replied, "Let's go."

With the little girls getting on his bike, they held on tight as Jack hit the ignition and started driving for the city. It didn't take very long, as his new form of transportation was really useful for traversing the large stretches of land that Jack usually would've walked through before. Seeing that he was pretty close, Jack slowed down and stopped by a large tuft of grass, rolling the motorcycle into it.

"Why did we stop?" Ami asked.

"Because I don't want to draw attention to myself." He explained, getting off the bike and helping the girls off it, "I also want to make sure the bounty hunters don't hear me coming."

"What's a bounty hunter?" Ashi asked.

Realizing what he just said, a sudden inner fear creeped into Jack. Despite him agreeing to take care of these girls, he realized the danger that they all were in. Even though it had been years since Aku had appeared to take on Jack face to face, the bounty on his head still remained. To make matters worse, the price was raised from two googolplexes to seven, since the Shapeshifting Master of Darkness _really_ wanted Jack out of the picture. As he processed this revelation and attempted to come up with an efficient plan to protect the girls, Jack answered the question with some hesitancy.

"Um… they are… people who hunt others when a reward is offered."

"Are you a bounty hunter?" Ali asked Jack, wanting to know who he was besides a Samurai.

Jack sighed, feeling it was best to let the girls know what was the danger that they faced.

"No but… many are after me, even to this day." He told them seriously, "Which is why I want to let you know something."

The girls listened up for what Jack would tell them, looking at him as he kneeled down if front of them.

"When we head into the city, please, _stay with me at all times._ " The Samurai advised, "If trouble arises, I want you all to hide and get to safety."

The Daughters of Aku all nodded, understanding what Jack said. However, a part of him wasn't convinced, as he placed his hands on Ashi's shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

" _Please!_ I need you all to understand! Do you?!"

"Yes." She replied softly.

"How about all of you?!" Jack asked, looking at the rest of the girls.

"We understand." They said at the same time.

Sighing in relief, Jack stood up and had the girls follow him, walking away from the bike. Covering the vehicle with a camouflaged blanket, Jack pointed towards the path in front of them.

"There, we're going down that way." The man said, "Don't worry, I'm right behind you."

As the girls walked down the path and admired the surroundings, Jack followed close behind, scanning the area around them and trying to see if there were any traps laid out by any bounty hunters.

" _So, how is this babysitting job treating you at the moment?_ "

Eyes widening, Jack looked to his left and saw his hallucination walking along with him. Growling in annoyance, the Samurai looked away from him and continued his lookout for any traps.

" _You know, you wouldn't have to worry about caring for well being of these seven if you just let them be in the care of someone else._ "

"You say that like I had an easy choice on what to do with them." Jack hissed quietly, not wanting to frighten the girls with the fact that he was talking to himself.

" _You did, you just didn't take the time to assess all the possible choice you could make._ " The hallucination replied, " _However, I don't blame you, as a day of killing does make awfully tired as well._ "

Jack furrowed his brow and glared at his hallucination, who had a smug smile on his face.

"I was protecting _them_ , why can't you understand that?"

" _I do understand._ " It shot back, " _After all, you'd do anything to protect someone as precious as these children, which even extends to murder._ "

Remembering the nightmare that he had earlier where the cultists he killed began calling him a murderer, Jack audibly hissed at his hallucination, which got heard by the little girls.

"You have no right to judge me!"

"Jack?"

Hearing Ashi call his name, Jack stopped what he was doing and looked down at her. Noticing that the eyes of her and her sisters were one of worry, Jack tried to play it off as best as he could.

"What is it, Ashi?" He asked.

"Who were you talking to?"

"Uh… no one."

"But you…"

"Please! Don't worry about me!" Jack said suddenly, "There's nothing wrong, I promise."

While the rest of the girls simply shrugged and continued walking, Ashi looked at Jack with a sad and confused expression, thinking that something was wrong with him. Continuing down the path, the Samurai and the girls soon ended up in the city. It was a very unique and interesting sight for the Daughters of Aku, who due to never heading outside before, found what they saw to be refreshing. Jack, on the other hand, having been in the future for approximately thirty years now, didn't even bat an eye at the sights of flying cars and futuristic buildings. Instead, he simply focused on getting what he needed for himself and the girls. Purchasing some food, Jack put the supplies in his bag and headed over to a merchant who was selling clothes of all sizes.

"What will it be, sir?"

Eyeing the clothes on display, Jack saw some that looked like they could fit the girls.

"Seven of those." He told the merchant, placing some money on the table.

"Coming right up." The merchant replied, grabbing those specific clothes and looking at the girls, "Are those your daughters?"

The question made Jack gain an incredulous look on his face, with the Daughters of Aku looking up at him when they heard this, curious on what he would say.

"Um... no, I'm… I'm only looking after them, that's all." He replied, flustered.

"Adoptive caretaker?" The merchant inquired.

"Yes…" Jack told him, not really liking this conversation.

"Hope you can take care of them." He responded, "After all, the times we live in aren't the best for raising the youth, y'know?"

"Yes, yes, can I please have the clothes now?"

"Here you go sir, hope these are adequate enough for them."

Grabbing the bag, the Samurai and the little girls began to walk away from the merchant and back towards the bike. As they walked, Jack suddenly thought about what the merchant said and wondered if he truly did make the right choice of becoming the sole caretaker of the Daughters of Aku and if it wasn't too late to leave them in a place where they wouldn't have to fear the possible bounty hunters that would come their way. Before he could think more about this, Jack saw something that made his eyes bulge and his mouth drop.

In front of him was a wanted poster of him. Usually, he didn't care for it, often going and staying at places which had them all over the place in the past. However, since the loss of his sword, Jack used the outdated appearance of him on the wanted posters to his advantage to remain inconspicuous when out buying supplies that he needed or just traversing the lands. Unfortunately, the wanted poster in front of him now had his current appearance on it, as well as a drawing of him with his samurai helmet. Realizing the severity of this, especially since Jack being seeing multiple intimidating or suspicious looking men or creatures slowly make their way towards him.

"Come on girls, this way!" Jack told them, hurrying through a crowd and motioning the girls to go faster..

"Where are we going, Jack?" Amori asked, concerned by how fast they were moving.

"We're taking a shortcut!"

Going through a crowd of people in order to lose the bounty hunters, Jack found a walkway that would lead them to the forest and get them in the clear. Quickly walking to it, Jack opened the door at the end of the walkway and waited for the girls to go through. Once the were through, Jack shut the door and barricaded it with a large container. Watching him do this, the girls' attention went towards a round and furry man standing in the distance, causing them to gasp in fear. The Samurai heard this and placed himself in front of the Daughters of Aku, who hid behind him and peeked around him. Examining the man in front of him, Jack realized that he resembled the "crazy round man" that appeared on the day where Mad Jack was born.

"SAMURAI JACK!" He yelled, "You have bested me in combat many years ago!" Og ranted, "However, I will not be one to make the same mistake! I will get that googolplex no matter what!"

Staring each other down for a bit, the Samurai and the bounty hunter waited for one of them to make the first move, Suddenly, Og let out a yell and charged for Jack, much like he did during their first fight many years ago.

"Jack." Ashi whimpered, scared at what would happen next.

"Stay calm." He advised, preparing his attack.

When Og got close enough, Jack took out his trident. However, instead of using it against him, Jack tossed it at Og, who confusedly catched the weapon, unintentionally slowing down. With Og distracted, Jack rushed for him and punched him hard in the face, following up with a roundhouse kick, knocking the bounty hunter on his back. Not relenting in his attacks, Jack grabbed his legs and spun him around several times, launching him into a building. Seeing Og fall down from a considerable height as a result of this, Jack rushed for him, jumped up, grabbed him, and slammed him to the ground.

"Googolplex…" Og groaned once more, passing out from his injuries.

"Once again, there will be no money for you, crazy round man." Jack told him.

Walking back to the girls, he saw them run up to him with excited expressions on their faces.

"Jack! You did it!" Ami beamed.

"We aren't safe yet." He replied, picking up his trident, "Not until we back to the forest."

With that, they continued on, trying to get to motorcycle as fast as they could. Thankfully, no bounty hunters were in sight, with the Samurai and the Daughters of Aku nearing the location of the bike. As Jack went to remove the blanket, some mines that were hidden in the ground sprung up in the air, primed and ready to explode. Thinking fast, Jack dived to the floor, taking the girls down with him and covering them with his body to protect them from the blast. Hearing them go off and explode above their heads, Jack wondered who was able to set this trap for them. He soon got his answer when the sound of motorcycles cut into the air and several goons on bikes showed up and began circling around them. Growling, Jack grabbed the machine gun from his bike and began aiming it at the goons.

"Girls! Hide!" He advised.

"But… Ali stammered.

"NOW!"

Following his orders, the girls got up and began running away, looking for a hiding spot. However, in their confusion and frightened states, they didn't know where to go.

"Where do we hide?!" Anzi cried out, scared of what was going around her and her sisters..

Panting heavily out of fear and tiredness, Ashi soon spotted a very large tuft of grass in front of them, which looked big enough and thick enough to securely hide them.

"There!" She told her sisters, pointing at the spot.

Running as fast as they could, the Daughters of Aku hid themselves inside the large tuft of grass, with them being undetected by the bounty hunters. As of now, the only thing they could do was watch and hope that Jack made it out well. Pressing the trigger on his LMG, Jack unleashed a hail of bullets onto the robotic motorcycle riding bounty hunters, taking a considerable amount of them out as a result.

Unfortunately, Jack's rapid fire power would come to a quick end when one of the bounty hunters used his electric whip to snatch the gun from his arms, flinging it far away from him. Being shock for a moment, Jack quickly regained his bearings and assessed the situation. He had managed to take out seven bounty hunters and at the moment, three still remained. Grabbing his trident, Jack activated the shock function and waited for one of the bounty hunters to charge him. Leaping in the sky, Jack pierced the robot's chest with blade, blowing him up. Rolling out of the way of another attempted hit and run, the Samurai quick drawed his pistol and shot out the tire, causing that bounty hunter to be sent flying off his bike and into a tree, where he promptly exploded.

That left Jack to deal with the electric whip wielding bounty hunter, who currently charged for him. Waiting for the right moment, Jack watched as the robot prepped his electric whip and aimed it for Jack. As he was about to use it, the Samurai threw a knife into his arm, causing it to be rendered useless. With that, Jack ran for him and with a mighty yell, struck him with the shock function of his trident, firing the bounty hunter's circuitry and blowing him up as a result. With the battle won, Jack picked up his machine gun and the electric whip, seeing that it was a useful weapon.

"Girls? Where are you?" He called out, worried for their well being.

Glad to see that their caretaker had managed to win, the girls stood up and called for him.

"We're here!" Ali replied.

Rushing over to them, Jack began checking them over, wanting to make sure that nothing had happened to them during his fight.

"Are any of you hurt?!" Jack asked, sounding like a concerned parent.

"We're okay!" Amori told him.

" _Are you sure_?" He inquired, not wanting to worry about their well being.

"Yes." They all replied.

Sighing in relief, Jack stood up and wiped his brow, being glad that nothing was wrong.

"I'm glad that nothing has happened to you. However, that was too close." The Samurai told the girls, "We must keep an eye out for things like that or else, we may not come back from it." He warned.

Noticing that the sun was setting, Jack realized that it was getting late. Due to his encounters with the bounty hunters, he decided that it be best to stay off the mainland for a while and to find some shelter. Walking with the girls back to his motorcycle, he noticed a sidecar on one of the now uncommanded bikes. Throwing the bullet riddled robot corpse out of it, Jack checked it and saw that it could was big enough for the girls to be in. Ripping it off, Jack carried it back to his bike and attached it to the side. Helping the girls inside, he checked to see if everything was fine with them.

"Comfortable?" Jack asked.

The girls all nodded their heads in response, liking that they now had their own personal seat instead of having to ride on the back of the motorcycle like before. Hopping onto his bike, the Samurai started it up and sped away in search of temporary shelter.

 **And that's the second chapter, hope you guys enjoyed it. I really tried to improve the action sequences with this one, as well as character interactions, let me know what you guys think. Next, Jack will tell the girls a little story from his childhood and then spend the day with them, enjoying the beauty of the outdoors. Anyways, check back for more chapters, thanks 4 reading, Lt-RexCole out.**


	3. Chapter 3: Childlike Curosity

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story. At the time of writing this author's note, I just watched the last episode of Samurai Jack. It was an awesome episode, with a really bittersweet ending in my opinion. However, overall, I really enjoyed it and I feel it's a good ending to the story of Jack. Will it have an impact on the future chapters? Somewhat but that's for another time, Previously, Jack fought off some bounty hunters out for his head, with him protecting himself and the girls. As of now, they'll get some sleep and he'll explore nature with them for a bit. Read on to find out what happens.**

Driving through the forest, Jack recalled the events that occurred earlier that day. He had gotten rid of the Daughters of Aku's previous black charred look upon learning the backstory behind it, replacing it with dresses made from the natural flora in the area. Additionally, he had to take out several bounty hunters that came his way. Even though he dispatched them with ease, these events made the Samurai realize that he had to keep a bigger eye out for anything or anyone that would be willing to commit harm against him and the girls with him.

Speaking of them, the more he spent time with the Daughters of Aku, the more Jack felt like he was becoming more to them than just a protector from the harsh world. They felt the same way, as the Samurai to them went from a simple guardian to someone who cared about them deep down. As the Samurai drove, he knew that he'd have to get someplace that was away from plain sight as the last thing he wanted was a bounty hunter to find him and the girls during the night when they were sleeping and easily take them out. Thankfully, the man noticed a cave in the distance. Driving over to it, Jack rolled his motorcycle into the cave. Shutting off the bike and getting off, Jack assisted in helping the girls get out of the car.

"Wow." Anzi said.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"There!" Ali told Jack, pointing at the ceiling.

Looking up, Jack noticed that there were some cracks above them, which revealed the shining stars in the sky, which made the Samurai smile.

"What are those?" Ashi questioned.

"Those are stars."

"Did Aku make them?" Amori asked him innocently.

That made Jack grow an incredulous look on his face.

"You th-" He started to say, before stopping himself, "Why do you ask that?"

"Because that's what our mother told us." She replied.

"She said that Aku made everything." Avi added.

"Well, that is all incorrect." He told them, "Nothing in this world was created by Aku."

"Then who made them?" Aki told them, wanting to know.

Jack went over to his bike and grabbed some food, handing some to each of the girls.

"Let me tell you during our meal." He said.

Grabbing a piece of meat, Jack sat down in front of the little girls, who were patiently waiting for him to start and were eating quietly.

"When I was very young…" Jack started to tell them, "My mother told me a story, of when all the Earth was covered in darkness."

The Daughters of Aku attempted to picture this in their minds, letting their imaginations run wild.

"But a little magical boy named Sun and his little sister named Moon rode a Phoenix up into the darkness."

The girls smiled as they imagined this scene taking place in their heads.

"They shot enchanted arrows that exploded and filled the dark sky with an affinity of stars." He finished.

"Wow." Ami breathed out, surprised to learn that the stars were created this way.

"Are Sun and Moon still making stars?" Ali asked.

"According to some stories, they are." He replied, "However, that's for another time. Have you all eaten?"

They nodded their heads before yawning and rubbing their eyes.

"It appears that you all are tired." Jack smiled, "Let's get some sleep." He told them, getting up and grabbing some blankets.

"Do we have to?" Ashi whined.

"Yes, we'll need the strength for tomorrow, especially in case of something that happened today happening again tomorrow."

"Oh." She replied, remembering the bounty hunters from earlier.

"It's okay. Have a good night, girls." He said.

"Good night… Jack." They yawned, drifting into dreamland.

As he watched them snore softly, something panged inside the Samurai's heart as Jack slowly got a blanket for himself. As he prepared to go to sleep as well, he realized that these girls weren't only defenseless children, they were also the only thing left in the world that was making him hold onto his sanity, as well as giving him a purpose to keep on going. With this in mind, Jack told himself to protect the girls at all costs just as he drifted into sleep as well.

 **Unknown**

 _Jack didn't know where he was but that didn't matter. The only important thing at the moment was that he find the Daughters of Aku as they somehow disappeared despite his best efforts to keep an eye on them. With that, Jack began running down the tunnel in front of him to see if he could eventually find them. The further he went on, the more the area around him transformed into the temple where he first found the girls. Despite his best efforts to find the missing girls, Jack couldn't acquire a trace of them. Suddenly, as he turned the corner, he found a door. Perplexed of why a out of place door was present in the temple, the Samurai nonetheless went ahead and opened it, blacking out for a brief moment as he stepped inside._

 _When his vision returned to him, Jack realized that he was standing in another part of the temple, with the door that he went through not being there anymore._

" _What trickery is this?" The Samurai asked himself, scratching his head._

 _Shrugging, Jack turned around and continued his search for the missing girls. However, he stopped in his tracks when he saw a blood trail in front of him. Fearing that it came from them, he began sprinting down the passageway, following the blood trail, hoping that it wouldn't lead to the corpses of the girls. Thankfully, he found that it lead to a giant stone wall instead of their dead bodies. Looking at it, Jack noticed that a message was spelled out in blood on the wall._

" _I KNOW YOUR SECRET, SAMURAI!_ " _The message said._

" _Secret?" Jack asked._

"Jack." A voice whimpered.

 **The Real World**

Jack opened his eyes and gasped. Leaning upright, he saw the Daughters of Aku standing in front of him. Noticing that something appeared to be wrong with them, Jack examined them closely and saw that they were crying, with sad expressions being present on their faces. This worried him immensely, as he got up from the ground to check them over.

"What is wrong?" He asked.

"I… I had a bad dream." Amori sobbed, clutching the blanket to her chest.

"Me too…" Ali whimpered, wiping her eyes.

"What happened in those dreams?" Jack inquired.

The little girls quivered in fear and just started sobbing, not feeling confident enough to tell Jack what happened in their dreams. Looking distressed as a result of seeing this, the man took all of them in his arms, attempting to give them a comforting presence in order to calm them.

"Shh, it is alright." He said, speaking in a soft tone, "Whatever troubled you in your dreams no longer exists. Just take some deep breaths to calm yourselves." Jack told them.

The girls heeded his advice and began taking deep breaths in hopes of calming down from their current, fearful state. To their surprise, it worked and they felt somewhat better, as they were now only sniffling quietly instead of crying.

"There, do you all feel better now?" Jack asked, hoping that they were alright.

"Yes." Aki whispered, with the rest of her sisters nodding.

"Good." The man smiled, "Now, what troubled you in your dreams?"

None of them wanted to say what it was, due to them not wanting to relive the nightmare. However, they saw that Jack only wanted to know what was wrong with them. Sighing, Ashi mustered up the courage to tell him.

"A… a monster was chasing me." She whimpered.

"A monster was chasing me too." Aki added, wiping her eyes.

"Me also." Ami told Jack, sniffling.

Jack frowned when he heard this.

"What did it look like?"

"It… it looked like…" Avi stammered, "Our mother."

"Oh." Was all Jack could say, "Don't worry, she and all those women can no longer hurt you."

The girls nodded in response, but this didn't make Jack feel that they would be okay for that point on.

"Do you think that you can go to sleep now?" He asked.

"No!" Ashi cried, "I don't want to go to sleep!"

"The monster will come back!" Anzi added, shivering at the memory of the nightmare.

The Samurai raised his eyebrows and gave the girls a look of pity, with their fear reminding Jack of himself when Aku came back and destroyed his homeland. Looking down, he was unsure on how to make them feel better. As he tried to figure out something, Jack recalled his experiences with taking care of a baby many years ago and got an idea.

"I know that you all feel afraid." Jack started to tell them, "If you believe that it will make you feel better, you can sleep with me tonight."

Hearing that, the girls looked at Jack, processing what he said to them.

"Will it make the monster go away?" Ami asked.

"It will, I assure you." He replied, hoping that the girls could feel calm enough to sleep again.

"Okay."

Smiling in response, Jack grabbed his blanket and put it over himself and the Daughters of Aku, before lying on his back. The girls snuggled close to him and were soon asleep once more, although they were better off and their dreams were no longer plagued by the nightmares of the Cult of Aku. This made the Samurai feel better as well, since the last thing he wanted was the girls to be in distress, no matter what the situation was. Yawing, Jack closed his eyes and fell asleep as well.

 **The Next Day**

Jack slowly opened his eyes and yawned, getting up from the ground to stretch. As he did so, he realized that something was amiss. Looking around, the Samurai realized that the sleeping girls were no longer there anymore. Getting up quickly, he ran out of the cave and scanned the area in front of him, hoping to find the girls. Thankfully, he spotted them looking at the forest around them, intrigued at how different this was compared to the bustling city.

"Girls!" Jack called out, going over to them.

Hearing the voice of their protector, the seven turned around to see him come over to them.

"Hi Jack!" Ashi smiled.

"Hello Ashi, what are you all doing out here?"

"We're looking around!" Ami told him.

"Yeah!" Anzi added.

"That's good but…"

"What?" Aki asked, kind of worried at what Jack would say.

"I want you to know that you should _never_ go anywhere unless I'm there with you." Jack said seriously, "Especially if there are bounty hunters present."

"Oh." She replied, with her and the rest of her sisters looking down.

"It's okay, I am not angry, I just wanted to let you this, that's all."

At that, the girls immediately brightened up and went over to hug Jack, who returned it.

"Are we going to do something today?" Ali asked.

Stroking his beard, Jack questioned himself if he needed to getting anything. Seeing as they got what they needed during yesterday's supply run, as well as a new weapon from those bounty hunters, the Samurai believed that they would be fine for now.

"Not at the moment." He answered, "We can explore the forest if you'd like."

"Really?" Ami asked.

"Can we?! Can we?!" Aki added.

"Yes, you can." Jack replied, smiling upon seeing how excited they were.

Upon receiving confirmation, the girls turned around and began running down the dirt path which would lead further into the forest.

"Girls! Wait!" He called out, running after them.

Catching up the Daughters of Aku, Jack had begun walking with them, watching them admire and look at the forest around them. Seeing the girls enjoy themselves and explore the surroundings with awe as children would usually do rather than be forced to do something they don't want gave the man a feeling that he couldn't quite put into words, although he accepted it immensely. As they continued to walk, Ami soon gasped in shock, seeing something land on a tree branch.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"Look!" Ami told him, pointing at the branch.

Looking at where she was pointing at, Jack saw several birds land on the tree branch in front of them.

"What are those things?" Aki asked him.

"Those are birds."

"Birds?"

"That's right."

Jack and the Daughters of Aku watched the birds do think such as flying towards other parts of the tree branch and ruffling each other's feathers. This intrigued them immensely, with many questions going through their heads on why these birds did what they did.

"Jack, why are they doing that?"

Jack watched the birds ruffle each other's feathers, as well as "kissing" each other with their beaks.

"It is to show affection to each other."

"Do people do that too?" Ashi asked.

"Um… somewhat, although not in the same way."

"How."

"Well… they…" Jack started to say, before remembering that he was talking to a group of little girls, "I'll explain it to when you all are older." 

"But we want to know now!" Anzi whined.

"I apologize but some things are better left unheard, especially at your age." He told them.

"Aw." They all replied.

"Don't worry too much about it." Jack said, kneeling down, "You will learn it in due time. Let's continue on through this forest."

And so, the Samurai and the Daughters of Aku continued walking down the dirt path, with the latter continuing to examine their surroundings with awe and thus, continued to ask Jack questions about anything they could think about. This included why were leaves green, where did animals such as rabbits and squirrels came from, what did they eat, what other animals lived in the forest, and more. Jack didn't mind the onslaught of questions, as he knew that the girls were just curious and considering they had little interaction with the world around them, the Samurai wanted to fill them in on the many facts of the area they were currently in.

As Jack continued to walk with them and answer their questions, Anzi's eyes were looking at the high treetops when she suddenly heard a noise. Believing it to be another bounty hunter, she and the rest of her sisters hid behind Jack.

"What is the matter?" He asked, concerned at how they were acting now.

The man soon got his answer as a doe walked into view, with the animal looking around as if it were waiting for someone.

"What is that?" Ali asked.

"That is a doe." Jack replied, "There's no need to have any fear of it." He told them, trying to calm the girls down.

Shortly afterwards, a stag walked into view and approached the doe. To Jack, it was simply a male deer and nothing more. However, for the Daughters of Aku, the moment they saw the horns on the stag, they shuddered in fear, with them reminding the girls of the Cult.

"Is… is that… Aku?" Ashi whimpered.

"What?" Jack asked incredulously, "No, it isn't."

"What is it?" 

"It is just a stag, nothing more."

Continuing to watch them, the Daughters of Aku's doubts and worries went away the moment they saw the stag and doe nuzzle each other, which reminded them of the birds that they saw earlier. Walking out from behind Jack, the girls watched as the stag and doe walked into the forest, disappearing from their sight. Seeing this gave them a happy feeling, although they didn't understand why. As the Samurai witnessed this happen, he looked up at the sky and noticed that the Sun was beginning to go down, with him being surprised that they spent the whole day just exploring the forest.

"It appears that we have to stop exploring for the day, girls." He said, "Let's start heading back to the cave."

"Do we have to?" Ami asked.

"Yes." Jack replied, "We'll do this again another time. I promise."

"Okay." Aki told him, although she sounded a little disappointed.

With that, the Samurai and the little girls began following the dirt path back the way they came in order to reach the cave. By the time they made it back, it was nighttime and by extension, bedtime. The girls thankfully did not have any nightmares this time around, with them sleeping soundly throughout the night. This was good news for Jack, as it was one less thing to worry about. Yawning, Jack got out his blanket and found a nice spot on the ground to sleep on. Shutting his eyes, the Samurai drifted off to sleep, wanting to be well rested for the days ahead of him.

 **And that's the third chapter everyone, I hope it's at least decent. I say this because I'm not really skilled in writing emotional esque chapters since I'm an action writer. However, I hope this is good enough to read. Next time, Jack encounters another bounty hunter and in the process, gets something that he didn't think he'd want. Thanks 4 Reading, check back for more chapters, Lt-RexCole out.**


	4. Chapter 4: Uncertain Status

**This is a redo of the fourth chapter, for those who are confused by me reposting the chapter again. After I read Warmach1ne332's review of this chapter, I decided to modify some stuff, as the ideas that they had ended up being better than what I had in mind.**

 **Also, after reading Guest Ronin's review, I decided to specify which of the girls were which. Also, their hairstyles** _ **have**_ **changed after they got the ash scrubbed off of them, I just didn't think that I'd need to specify that event happening, since I was basing that event off of InYuJi's fanart. Either way, this is who they are (and I'm referencing InYuJi's Samurai Dad 3 fanart with this list.)**

 **Ashi: We all know who she is.**

 **Aki: The girl with the rabbits next to her. When she's grown up, she is the woman with the blue coat and blue eyeshadow.**

 **Ali: The girl that is leaping in the air happily. When she's grown up, she's the rebel graffiti ninja.**

 **Ami: The girl that is next to the flower. When she's grown up, she's the "pink Sakura Tessen/ the first one Jack killed"**

 **Amori: The girl with the butterfly. When she's grown up, she's the Chun Li with roller skates.**

 **Anzi: The girl with the birds on her arms. When she's grown up, she's the Falconer.**

 **Avi: The girl with the dragonflies around her. When she's grown up, she's the main techhead.**

 **I hope that clears some issues that you guys have with the story. Anyways, read on to find out what happens.**

It had been a few weeks since Jack had saved the girls and taken them under his care and protection. In the time since he had shown them the forest and explained the many things that lived in it, the girls' curiosity had grown immensely with each passing day. The Samurai couldn't blame them, as they only wanted to know what the things in the world around them were. Because of this, the girls continued to ask him many questions about the world, with the man doing his best to answer them, although he sometimes had to fib the answer if the question they asked had an answer which wasn't meant to be heard by children. As of now, Jack and the seven girls were walking through another forest.

However, since those few weeks, the climate has changed, as snow was gently falling from the skies above, blanketing the landscape with a white coat. Due to this, the plant dresses that the Daughters of Aku previously wore have been replaced with the clothes that Jack had bought them. Despite this, the girls enjoyed the change of scenery and thus, began asking Jack more questions about the world once the seasons changed.

"Where do the birds go?" Anzi asked.

"They fly south when winter comes." Jack explained.

"Why?"

"There's no food left for them at the moment." He replied, "It is also too cold for them to stay here, so they go someplace warmer."

"Will they come back?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course." Jack smiled.

Suddenly, the Samurai heard quick and rapid footsteps coming their way.

"What's tha-" Ashi started to say.

Before she could finish her sentence, a figure who was cloaked and wielding a large sword leaped into view, ready to strike down on the Samurai and possibly, the Daughters of Aku. Thinking fast, Jack grabbed the electric whip that he acquired from the last bounty hunter and swung it, with it coiling around the assassin. Flinging him towards the trees, Jack watched as the bounty hunter hit them hard, collapsing onto the snow. Despite this, he was back on his feet in a matter of seconds, much to Jack's chagrin, with the Samurai pulling out his pistol from his holster and aiming it at the robot, keeping it trained on his head.

"Heh, I should've known that you would be able to detect that." He chuckled, "Well, at least I tried."

Jack didn't dignify that with a response, giving the bounty hunter his trademark look instead and keeping his pistol drawn on him. As for the girls, they hid behind the man, peeking out around him. The bounty hunter soon noticed them and a malicious smile graced his lips.

"Well, well, well, this is a _big_ surprise." The bounty hunter stated, "Samurai Jack is a daddy now! Never thought I'd say that."

Jack didn't think anything about the comment, instead trying to formulate a plan so the girls could get away safely. However, the Daughters of Aku, upon hearing the word "daddy", looked at the Samurai. They never thought of him as this and as a result, they ended up confused.

"So, what's your next move, Jack?" The bounty hunter taunted, "Are you going to attack me upfront and leave _them_ exposed to danger or are you gonna play it smart?"

Jack continued to stare at him.

"I'll wait for your decision!" He snarked, standing in place.

The man glanced towards the area around him quickly, trying to find a place which would securely hide the girls from the bounty hunter's sight. Seeing a large tuft of snow covered grass to his right, Jack then had to figure out how to get the girls over there without them being seen.

"Girls, listen to me." Jack said quietly, "When I attack, run towards that grass and hide."

"Will he see us?" Ashi whimpered.

"Don't worry, he won't be looking at you." He replied, preparing to shoot.

"Did you decide your next mo-" The bounty hunter started to say.

Suddenly, Jack fired off several shots, with the bounty hunter quickly deflecting them with his sword. However, he didn't expect Jack to quickly run up and drop kick him in the face, sending him flying backwards. Seeing that Jack had the bounty hunter down at the moment, the Daughters of Aku used that window of time to run and hide inside the tuft of grass, hoping that they wouldn't be able to be seen from that point on.

Not willing to give him any time to regain his bearings, Jack then aimed his pistol at the bounty hunter's head and fired, wanting to take him out as soon as he could. However, the bounty hunter leaped up from the ground, avoiding the shot, and jumped backwards a couple of feet away from Jack. Landing back down, he held his sword in front of his face in a defensive manner. The Samurai pointed his pistol and shot at him several more times. The bounty deflected all those shots once more and in a move that nobody saw coming, dashed for Jack at lightning speeds, something that even the man was not able to counter.

Hitting Jack in the face with a flying kick, the bounty hunter watched his pistol fly into the air because of this, catching it as it came down. Landing on his back, the Samurai looked back up with a shocked expression upon seeing his firearm being pointed at him. The Daughters of Aku gasped in shock. Looking around, the robot scanned the forest to see if he could find the girls. However, he couldn't and thus, turned his attention back to his target.

"Well, you've taken big precautions to keep your kids safe, Jack!" He mocked, "Not that it will do any good once you're taken care of!"

Suddenly, the bounty hunter got an interesting idea.

" _Or_ … I can take you out and then have those daughters of yours taken to Aku." The bounty hunter told the Samurai, "I'm sure he'll love having possession of his mortal enemy's children!"

The girls overheard this and shuddered at that thought, especially at the prospect of being with the thing that their mother and the rest of the Cult had worshiped. Jack, on the other hand, knew that he had to react quickly to the bounty hunter pulling the trigger on his pistol. However, to his surprise, the robot didn't even take advantage of the situation. Instead, he grabbed the slide and cocked it backwards, disabling its ability to fire.

"I don't like guns, they make the job too easy." He stated, answering the questions that appeared in Jack's mind, "I prefer a challenge." The bounty hunter added.

Having no use for the firearm, the bounty hunter threw it towards some grass and entered a combat stance. Unbeknownst to him, it landed in front of the tuft of grass that was hiding the Daughters of Aku, with them gasping upon seeing the pistol land in front of them. Despite the loss of his main defense weapon, Jack wasn't out of options yet. Grabbing his electric whip once more, Jack cracked it and waited for the robot's next move. Chuckling, the bounty hunter realized that it was time to stop holding back. Grabbing his cloak, he threw it off his person. The Samurai noticed that the bounty hunter, despite being a robot, didn't appear to resemble any type that he was familiar with. Instead, he resembled a human, one that had all their flesh and blood replaced with synthetic parts and circuitry. If there was an ounce of human skin on him, Jack could've assumed him to be a type of cyborg.

The two held a stare for a bit, wanting to see who would decide to strike first. It ended up being the bounty hunter, who broke off into a run, with his sword at the ready. Jack waited until he was close enough to retaliate. He leaned under the sword and flung his whip towards the robot. Unfortunately, the bounty hunter anticipated this and jumped over it, before kicking Jack in the face, sending him to the ground. Raising his sword over the downed warrior, the bounty hunter attempted to finish him off at that point. However, the Samurai rolled out of the way and performed a leg sweep, causing the robot to be dropped on the ground as well. Not allowing him to get any breathing room, Jack kicked the sword away and held the bounty hunter down by his neck, punching him in the face repeatedly.

The bounty hunter eventually broke free and performed a backflip, landing a fair distance away from Jack. Eyeing his fallen sword, he decided against going to retrieve it, as he'd possibly end up as scrap parts. Instead, he rushed for Jack, who prepared to fling his whip at the bounty hunter again. However, the robot surprisingly closed the distance between them in seconds. Without missing a beat, he kicked the Samurai's weapon into the air and punched him in the face, sending him back, albeit still on his feet.

The whip had now begun to fall to the ground, with the bounty hunter catching it. Before he could make any use of it, Jack kicked him in the stomach, causing it to be dropped. The Samurai then attempted to damage him with a three-punch combo, although all of his hits were blocked. Suddenly, the bounty hunter headbutted Jack, with the man staggering back and letting out a cry of pain. Panting for a moment, he felt blood seeping out of the place where he got hit, with the robot letting a malicious smile grow on his face. Angered, the man let out a yell and attempted to strike the robot down with a kick aimed for his head.

Unfortunately, the bounty hunter has the same idea, as he fired back with a high kick of his own. Their kicks collided and the two dashed back from each other, with Jack only growing angrier and the bounty hunter becoming more smug. Letting out another yell, Jack attempted to hit his opponent with a heavy punch. However, the bounty hunter quickly hit Jack twice in the face before performing a roundhouse kick on the Samurai, knocking him back down to the snow covered ground.

"Oh no!" Ali whispered.

"Jack." Aki cried out quietly, not liking what she was seeing.

Out of all the Daughters, Ashi was the one who not only disliked what she was seeing immensely, but she also knew that something had to be done.

"Aki, Ali, Ami, Amori, Avi, Anzi!" She whispered, "We have to help Jack!"

"H… how?!" Avi whispered back.

Suddenly realizing that, Ashi quickly tried to think of something fast. Eyeing the ground, she noticed decently sized rocks hidden amongst the tuft of grass.

"I know!" Ashi said, grabbing them, "We'll throw it at that bounty hunter!"

"But… but, won't he see us?" Amori asked.

That was Ashi's second realization, with her peeking through the tuft of grass to see the bounty reacquire his sword. He soon walked over to a downed Jack and held his sword over his body.

"What was up today, Jack?" He asked, "Did you have the flu or something because you were _really_ off your game!"

The man didn't reply, only preparing to retaliate once he made a move. However, the Daughters of Aku believed that he was done for.

"We have to help him, okay?!" Ashi said simply.

"Heh, I guess we'll never know." The bounty hunter said simply, "Nighty-night, Jack."

The Samurai was about to perform an evasive maneuver when he suddenly heard the ruffling off the tuft of grass that he had the girls hide in.

"Throw!" Ashi yelled, throwing her rock.

Confused by this, the bounty hunter then felt several rocks hit him in the face. Although this didn't do any damage, it made him immensely annoyed, with him turning his attention towards the Daughters of Aku.

"Yeah, that hurt a lot." He told them sarcastically, "You girls will get your turn to take me head on, just let me finish up with Samurai Dad over here!"

With the bounty hunter distracted, Jack quickly drew a throwing knife and stabbed him with it, exposing his circuitry underneath, before kicking him a fair distance away from him. Getting up, Jack grabbed his whip and entered a battle stance once more. Landing on the ground, the robot was back on his feet in a matter of seconds, although he staggered a bit and clutched his wounded area. However, he soon noticed the girls standing right out in the open and got an idea, albeit an extremely malicious one.

"Guess they don't know the meaning of hiding, huh Jack?" He asked, before running for them at lighting fast speeds.

Upon seeing the robot rush for them, the Daughters of Aku gasped in fear due to how fast he was heading for them, with a clear intent to murder.

"NO!" Jack cried out, being unable to stop him in any meaningful way, as his pistol was no longer with him.

Not knowing what to do, Ashi soon eyed Jack's fallen pistol on the ground and grabbed it, although she had no clear idea on what to do with it. With the bounty hunter growing closer by the millisecond, she had to do something fast. Trying to imitate Jack when he fired the pistol, Ashi pointed it at the robot's head and squeezed the trigger, shutting her eyes as she did so. Thankfully, when the pistol was thrown on the ground earlier, it caused slide to be moved back into its original position, which allowed it to be fired once more. The bounty hunter, not expecting for the gun to fire, suddenly felt something going through his head.

"ARGH!" He cried out, collapsing to the ground, right in front of the girls.

Seeing this happen, Jack hurried over to that spot. Upon firing the pistol and watching the bounty hunter collapse to the ground because of this, Ashi wasn't sure on what to think. The only thing she did after that was shakingly dropping the pistol on the ground and shivering. Making it over to the girls, the Samurai picked up his pistol and pointed it at the collapsed bounty hunter, making sure that he was down for good. Once that was done it, Jack leaned down and began checking over the girls to see if they were okay.

"Are you okay, Jack?" Ali asked.

"I am fine, don't worry." He replied, "What about you all?"

"We're okay…" Ashi whimpered.

"Ashi, what is wrong?" Jack questioned, concerned at how she was acting.

The girl didn't reply, only pointing at his gun and then at the robot, before lowering her head towards the ground.

"It's okay, you were only trying to protect yourself and your sisters, correct?" He asked her, speaking in a soft tone.

"Yes." She replied, although she didn't feel any better.

"I understand that you are all too young to make any sense of this." He added, "Despite how you're feeling right now, I will let you know that all these bounty hunters are just nuts and bolts."

"Nuts and bolts?" Anzi repeated.

"Yes." Jack told them, "There's no need to feel anything bad about you defending yourselves from him or any other bounty hunters that we may face, because of this."

The girls looked back up and upon hearing that, nodded, although Ashi continued to have a downcast expression. Jack realized that it'd be best to leave the area where the battle took place and as such, began guiding them back to their temporary shelter.

"Let's leave this place."

As Jack and the Daughters of Aku exited the forest, with him also taking the bounty hunter's sword for himself. However, a lingering doubt began to appear in his mind, with Jack doing his best to ignore it.

 **Later On, Unknown**

 _Jack was unsure on where he was. The area he was in appeared to stretch on for miles, with no sign of a change of scenery even being remotely present. However, his goal was simply making it through the region alongside the Daughters of Aku. Unfortunately, his motorcycle was nowhere to be found, which forced them all to walk._

" _Are we almost out, Jack?" Ami asked._

" _I'm not sure." He replied, "Perhaps we only have to walk a little furt-"_

 _Suddenly, a dark silhouette enveloped the Samurai and the girls._

" _Long time, no see, Samurai…" A familiar voice uttered._

 _Shuddering in fear, Jack turned around to find his mortal enemy, Aku, towering over him. The girls, upon seeing the huge monstrosity, quickly and fearfully hid behind their guardian._

" _A… Aku…" Jack stuttered._

" _Yes, it is I, Samurai Jack." Aku replied sarcastically, "I am surprised that you remember!"_

 _The man was getting increasingly unnerved by the laid-back attitude of his mortal enemy, which was made worse by the malicious grin on his face._

" _I presume that you are wondering why I have finally have decided to make a reappearance, correct?" He smiled._

 _Jack gulped, knowing the exact reason why he was here, although he tried to deny it._

" _Well, a little bird told me that "Samurai Jack has lost the only weapon in the world that can harm the mighty Aku"!" The Shogun of Sorrow laughed, "Fool! Now, I shall smite thee!"_

" _Jack… I'm scared!" Anzi cried out._

" _Oh, what is this?!" Aku responded, upon hearing a child's voice._

 _Looking closely at the small figures behind the Samurai, the Shapeshifting Master of Darkness was able to make out seven small little girls in plant dresses, who were trembling at the sight of the him. The demon, unsure on what to think of this, soon let a evil smile grace his lips as he suddenly found out a way that he could hurt the Samurai besides brutally killing him on that spot._

" _This is something I would not have expected!" He asked, "The Daughters of Jack! Bah, you girls should've known that your father isn't able to protect anyone! Let alone himself!"_

 _Watching Aku glide closer to him, Jack panicked._

" _Aku, please! Don't hurt them!" He pleaded, something very uncharacteristic of him._

 _Upon hearing this, Aku thought for a moment on if he should listen to the Samurai or not, as well as to give him some false hope that he would comply to his plead._

" _Nah!" Aku replied, grinning maliciously._

 _Swatting Jack away like he was a mere bug, the demon turned his attention to the little girls, who were tearfully and fearfully huddled together. Grabbing them with his hands, he kept a tight grip on the girls as he brought them to his face._

" _JACK!" They cried out in fear, amongst Aku's evil laughter._

 _The Samurai, shaking off the impact that his mortal enemy's swipe had on him, upon hearing the Daughters of Aku cry out for him, gained a panic-stricken expression on his face._

" _NO!" He yelled out, running for Aku, "DON'T HURT THEM!"_

 _Hearing that request only caused the demon to laugh even more than he already had been._

" _Foolish Samurai! Why would I listen to you!" Aku asked mockingly, "After all, without your sword, no harm can come to I!" He reminded, grinning at what he would do next, "Now, let this be a reminder that no matter how hard you try,_ _ **you can't save anyone!**_ _"_

 _With that, Aku began squeezing the life out of the girls, causing them to let out deafening cries of pain and anguish._

 **The Real World**

"AH!" Jack screamed, shooting up from his sleeping position.

Thankfully, that whole experience of Aku coming back and killing the Daughters of Aku in front of Jack's eyes was only a terrible nightmare. Nevertheless, he drew his pistol from its holster and scanned the cave that they were in for any threats. None were spotted and as such, Jack lowered his weapon and let out a sigh, turning his gaze towards the now asleep girls, who despite today's events, were having good dreams. Knowing how today's encounter ended up being too close for comfort, the Samurai reminded himself to take more drastic actions in case anymore bounty hunters made a surprise appearance such as the one that he fought today.

" _Don't you think it's time to give them up?!_ "

Eyes widening, Jack looked to his side to see his hallucination standing there, with a angry expression on his face.

"Why?" He shot back.

" _Why?! Have you forgotten what they've done today?!_ "

"They were only trying to help!"

" _They acted like fools!_ " The hallucination replied, " _Those children have no sense of self-preservation! They don't have any-"_

"Why don't you be quiet?!"

"Jack?"

Hearing Ashi's voice, Jack looked at her and saw her concerned expression.

"What is it, Ashi?" He asked, pretending to act that everything was fine.

"Are… are you having a nightmare?"

"Um… no, I'm fine." Jack lied.

"But… you were-"

"Ashi, believe me. I'm okay." He told her, motioning her to go back to sleep, "I should be asking you about your state. Are you feeling a little better?"

"Yeah?"

"That is good to know." He replied, smiling and tucking her in, "I promise that your sadness about your actions today will go away soon. Just try to go to sleep again."

"Okay."

Ashi complied with Jack's request, closing her eyes and heading back to sleep. Jack, upon seeing her do so, realized that it'd be best if he did the same, in order to rest up for whatever laid ahead for him in the morning. The only thing he hoped for was that he didn't dream that same nightmare for the rest of time.

 **Chapter Five will be coming soon, I promise. Anyways, check back for more, chapters.**


	5. Chapter 5: Skill Assessment

**Hey everyone, here's that fifth chapter. Previously, we had a bounty hunter attack Jack and the girls, with him nearly succeeding in taking out both of them. In this chapter, Jack realizes that he won't be able to protect them forever and thus, starts to give them training by assessing what they're currently capable of. I hope you enjoy what I have written here for this chapter. Read on to find out what happens.**

" _Keep them safe, no matter what._ "

That thought kept ringing through Jack's mind as the day went on, especially after the close call that was the bounty hunter's assault on him and the Daughters of Aku the day prior. Due to that, when he and the girls woke up, he told them that they'd forgo venturing into the forest for the time being, in order to not have the same event happen again. Since that was the case, the sentuplets were restricted from venturing anywhere that was farther than the small, snow covered, grassy field that was in front of the cave that they currently resided in. While this was somewhat unfortunate, they understood the situation and made the best of what they had, with Ami suggesting that they try to find flowers in the grass.

As the girls did just that, the man stood a few feet away but nevertheless, kept his eye on them, while also scanning the forest for anyone or anything that could pose a threat to the Daughters of Aku. In case something did show up, Jack was ready to blow it away with his machine gun, which he currently held in his hands.

However, despite being ready to defend the girls at any cost and at any time, a doubt began to grow inside the Samurai's mind. He began wondering if he could go through the following days being utterly paranoid and worried about future events, given his status as the one man who Aku wants dead the most, and how the girls would be affected by them, especially if a stronger than normal foe was sent after him. The more he thought about this, the more it bothered him. It didn't help that the fear of the Daughters of Aku being suddenly eviscerated in front of his eyes continued to become a bigger possibility with each passing second.

" _A bit overprotective, aren't you_?"

Recognizing the voice, Jack turned his head to right and saw his hallucination once again standing by him. Growling in annoyance, Jack turned his attention back to looking out for any threats that could harm the Daughters of Aku.

" _You sure you have enough firepower to defend from whatever might come of that forest?_ "

"What do you think?"

" _I think you're overreacting to what happened yesterday._ "

"What?! Overreacting?!" Jack quietly replied, turning towards his hallucination, "For your information, they were almost hurt!" 

" _Yes, after they made the mistake of revealing themselves to that bounty hunter._ " He repeated.

" _They were helping_!" The Samurai told him, getting increasingly frustrated, "Why can't you understand that!"

" _I do._ " Jack's hallucination responded, " _It's just… can you protect them from now on?_ "

"Of course I can!" He hissed.

Digging through the grass, Ashi tried her best to find any flowers. Unfortunately, due to the snow causing most of them to wither, she had no luck. Suddenly, she heard Jack audibly hiss in irritation. Turning around, she saw Jack angrily talk to someone who wasn't there. With this happening, right in front of her eyes, Ashi finally had confirmation that something was truly wrong with Jack, as she was suspicious beforehand about him.

"Hey, I found some!" Aki said, walking over to her sister to show her the flowers, only to gain a concerned expression, "What's wrong, Ashi?"

"Jack's talking to himself."

Overhearing this, the rest of the Daughters of Aku headed over to where Ashi was standing so they could get a clear view of the protector acting strange, with them watching in confusion and worry.

" _Are you sure?_ _After all, this world does not protect those who cannot protect themselves._ "

"What are you saying?" He asked, confused by this comment.

The hallucination sighed in annoyance and looked at Jack with a serious expression.

" _You cannot protect them forever. It'd probably be for the best if you trained them._ "

"No!" Jack told him, "They are only children! They shouldn't have to experience that!"

" _Are you so naive?_ "

"What?"

" _Do you remember what that woman told you on the day you rescued them?_ "

The moment his hallucination told him that, Jack recollected what she said.

" _They were to be the instruments of your destruction!_ " She ranted at him.

With that going through his head, the Samurai realized that while the Daughters of Aku were only little girls, they were being trained for combat, with their purpose being to kill him once they were older. Admittedly, upon rescuing them, the man had forgot about this, as his goal from that point forward was to make sure they were happy and content, to make them forget about the abuse they suffered when they were in the care of the cultists.

" _Do you remember now?_ "

"I do." He admitted, "But… I will not put them through training! It'd be better for them if they were just normal little girls!"

" _Oh, don't be such a fool._ " The hallucination replied, " _I know that in the back of your mind, there's doubt! Doubt about you being able to keep them safe!_ "

Jack narrowed his eyes in anger and annoyance.

" _Even then, you of all people should know that there will come a time where you won't be there to protect them!_ " He added, " _You might as well give them tools so they can protect themselves!_ "

Jack's facial expression faltered when he heard that, gazing towards the ground and trying to prevent that scenario from playing in his head. While he did that, his hallucination turned his head to his side and smirked.

" _Hm, looks like you have another issue to deal with!_ "

"What are you-" Jack asked, before stopping himself.

In front of him, he saw the girls staring at him with concerned expressions. Turning back to his side quickly, the Samurai saw that his hallucination had disappeared. Sighing, he realized that they have all saw him get into a active conversation with himself. Knowing that he couldn't lie his way out of this instance, Jack put down his machine gun and walked over to the Daughters of Aku.

"Hello… girls." Jack awkwardly greeted.

"Are you okay, Jack?" Anzi asked.

" _Am I?_ " He asked himself, " _What has become of you? Talking to yourself as if someone was there! Making a fool out of yourself!_ " The Samurai chastised.

"I… I merely have a small problem with… talking to myself." He replied, trying to sugarcoat the issue, "There's...nothing to be alarmed about."

"But… you've been talking to yourself for weeks." Ashi told him.

The moment she said that, he remembered the instance of where they first heard him talk to his hallucination.

" _Jack?_ "

" _What is it, Ashi?_ "

" _Who were you talking to?_ "

" _Uh… no one._ "

" _But you…_ "

" _Please! Don't worry about me!_ _There's nothing wrong, I promise._ "

He knew that statement was a big lie but Jack only said it so the girls would have one less thing to worry about. However, with the issue now being clearer in their minds, the Samurai had to be completely honest this time around.

"Yes… I know." Jack told Ashi, "I didn't want to frighten you all with this issue."

Jack paused for a moment, wanting to choose his words carefully.

"But… I promise that… I will do something about it."

"But won't it happen again?" She asked.

Hearing that caused him to sigh, knowing that what he said made it seem like the issue could easily be taken care of when in reality, it was a ongoing problem that had been plaguing the man for the last thirty years of his immortal life.

"Possibly." Jack half-heartedly admitted, "I won't let it impact your lives."

"We'll help you Jack!" Amori said suddenly.

"What?"

"Yeah! We'll help make that stop!" Aki added.

"Girls, you don't understand." He replied, "This is not something that can be stopped easily."

"Then how?" Ami asked.

" _That is a good question._ " Jack thought to himself, "Um… I am still looking for an answer."

"We can find one!" Ami told him.

Jack smiled at that. Even though they had little understanding of the issue, the Samurai appreciated their willingness to help him.

"Thank you." He said simply.

With the issue of Jack talking to hallucinations being acknowledged, it seemed like something that was resolved at the moment. However, the Samurai knew that when he least expected it, those hallucinations would come back and as such, he began to move onto his next important issue, which was training the girls. The man started to choose his words carefully, as the last thing he wanted was to spook them and give the girls the impression that he'd force them into learning the martial arts against their will.

"Girls… may I ask you something?"

"What?" Ashi asked suspiciously, wondering if something else was wrong with Jack.

"I… I was wondering about what you know about… martial arts."

The Daughters of Aku all got confused by his question, looking at each other to see if any one of them understood what he said.

"I mean… your training." He clarified, "What do you know?"

When Jack said that, they remembered. The way of life they were forced to live by due to their mother wanting to have _them_ be the ones to defeat Jack and gain Aku's blessing. However, in the time since he rescued them, they hadn't thought much about it, instead spending time exploring the world around them. With it being brought back to their attention and with it, the painful memories, they all became nervous and semi-fearful at what Jack wanted from them, thinking that he'd want to resume what their mother and the other cultists had started.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Are you going to hurt us?" Amori asked.

"No! No, I don't!" Jack told them, trying to clear up the misconception, "I will not harm you like those women did! I only want to know your knowledge on this because…" He paused, "I don't want another event such as yesterday."

They knew what he was talking about, how that bounty hunter rushed for them with a clear intent to kill. If it hadn't been for Ashi's quick thinking, they all wouldn't have been alive today. Speaking of her, she looked at the ground. While she accepted what needed to be done at that time and place, the memory taking that robot's "life" still filled her with a sense of sadness, even if Jack told her that she was only defending herself and her sisters.

"Do you remember how that… bounty hunter almost hurt you all?"

"Yeah." Aki replied.

"I fear that it could happen again." He admitted, "That is why I want to see what you know, so if another bounty hunter attacks, you can protect yourselves."

The Daughters of Aku, upon realizing what his true intentions were, stopped acting fearful and instead, they returned to their normal dispositions.

"So…" Jack awkwardly proceeded, "Let's start with your stances. What do you know?"

In response to that, the girls took up a formation similar to one that their mother made them stand in during their many training routines and without wasting any time, began to perform those same martial art stances that they had many times before. As the man watched them, he could identify which stances were which.

" _Kokutsu Dachi, Tsuru Ashi Dachi, Shinzentai, Hachiji Dachi._ " Jack identified, impressed at how synchronized the girls were.

However, by the time the girls have finished up, their synchronization had slowly fallen apart and they all ended with a different pose. It only took them a second to realize this and they all froze in terror, as the subconscious fear of their mother's retribution took hold of them.

"That was impressive." He smiled.

"Huh?" They all asked, as they expected Jack to dole out some retribution for their mess up.

"You are all very coordinated." Jack complemented, "However, something that should be worked is making sure you all know what you will all do at a certain time."

Looking up at Jack, the Daughters of Aku processed his commentary on their exercise. Seeing as he didn't resort to hitting them and instead only told them what they could do better, they relaxed and smiled in response, being glad that for once, they weren't reprimanded for a mistake besides being told how they could improve.

"Do you all want to continue?" The man asked, not wanting to push the girls into doing something that they don't want to do.

"Yeah!"

"Okay." He replied, "Now, let us work on defending yourselves from a bounty hunter."

The girls nodded and waited for what Jack wanted them to do.

"Pretend I am one of them and find a way to take me down."

Upon hearing that, the Daughters of Aku looked at each other with confused expressions in what to do. Eventually, Ali slowly walked up to Jack with her fists up, although she was uncertain if she should even attempt to attack Jack, despite him saying that's one of the things that are part of the training that they were currently undertaking.

"It is fine." Jack told her, "You can continue with what you were going to do."

With that confirmation, Ali reeled back and hit Jack as hard as she could. It didn't do anything to the man, as he was protected by his armor.

"Ow." Ali stated, wringing her hand.

"Are you alright?" He asked, leaning down and checking her hand.

"I'm okay." She replied honestly, "My hand hurts a little bit."

"That is okay." Jack told her, not wanting to push her beyond her limit, "You can stop for now." He said, motioning her to stand by the sidelines.

Since Ali could do little with just "attacking" Jack directly, Ashi suddenly got an idea on how to proceed.

"Hey, I got an idea!" She whispered, bringing her sisters closer.

"What?" Aki asked.

"Let's all take on Jack at the same time!" She told her sister, "We can bring him down that way."

"Are you sure?" Amori questioned.

"We don't have any other way." Ashi said, "I also don't want to hurt him." She admitted.

"Me neither." Anzi added.

The course of action was decided and so, the sisters quickly turned around and rushed for Jack. Much to the surprise of the Samurai, for little girls, they moved fast, which led to difficulty in tracking them. Suddenly, he felt the six leap onto him and attempt to pull him down to "defeat" him. Admittedly, he staggered back a little when they first jumped onto him but the man regained his footing. This left the sisters attempting to pull him down, as they had attempted back at the temple with the brute. Unfortunately, their efforts proved fruitless, as Jack remained on his feet and they tired out.

"That's enough, you can all stop now." Jack said, allowing the girls to jump off, "That was very impressive."

"Really?" Ami asked.

"Yes, once again, you are all very well coordinated and quick about your movements." He complimented, "We can improve on your effectiveness and tactics."

"How?" Avi questioned.

"Let me demonstrate."

 **Later**

For the remainder of the day, Jack showed the Daughters of Aku what his skills consisted of, what tactics he often uses in battle, some martial art techniques which they imitated to the best of their ability, and ways to defend yourself using only your fists and a blunt item. Additionally, during his lecture, the man discovered that the girls already had learned combat techniques such as attacking certain pressure points on a person and some weapon usage, albeit at an elementary level. By the end of his explanation, the girl's knowledge on combat and defense had increased and they felt a little more confident as a result.

Soon enough, bedtime came once again and they had to go sleep, as spending the whole day learning various martial art and combat skills made the Daughters of Aku pretty tired. Despite that, there was still a lingering question on Ashi's mind, due to the conversation she and her sisters had with Jack earlier about him talking with himself.

"Try to have a good rest, girls." He told them, tucking them in, "You will need it for tomorrow."

"Okay, Jack…" Amori yawned.

"Jack." Ashi said.

"Yes, AshI?" The man asked, noticing her concerned expression, "What is it?"

"Why do you talk to yourself?"

The question caused the Samurai to raise his eyebrows in response, before lowering his gaze towards to the ground.

"I…" He sighed, "It… Sometimes… I am able to save someone from being hurt, such as you all." Jack explained, "Sometimes… I cannot. That… causes me to deflect my guilt… on those who aren't there." The man said, trying to sugarcoat the issue once more, "Is it more understandable now?"

The girls nodded their heads.

"I… I promise that I will work on that issue." He told them, "It… it will not impact your lives." Jack repeated from earlier.

With Jack giving an explanation that they could understand., the Samurai and the Daughters of Aku then tried to go to sleep. The girls managed to fall asleep with very little difficulty, while the man couldn't for the life of him. This was partially due to a subconscious fear of experiencing another nightmare involving Aku. Not only that, another worry had taken hold of the him, related to the issue of his hallucinations.

" _Can I keep my promise?_ " Jack thought.

 **I hope this chapter is substantial for you fine folks, out there. I promise chapter six will be out as soon as possible! See you guys later, Lt-RexCole out.**


	6. Chapter 6: Training Continues

**Welcome back to the story. Previously, Jack had assessed the girl's combat skills while also helping them improve on it. Read on to find out what happens.**

" _Girls!" Jack shouted, "Girls! Where are you?!"_

 _Jack couldn't believe it. When he had woken up, the Daughters of Aku were nowhere to be seen. Fearing the worst, the man immediately rushed out of the cave and noticed their footprints imprinted in the snow, which led into the forest. Alongside them were tracks that resembled those of a horse. This observation gave the Samurai a terrible feeling and he immediately took off into the woods. As of now, he was running through the forest, while simultaneously following the tracks, hoping that no harm has been done to them._

 _"Girls?! Can you hear me?!" He called out, with his tone becoming more desperate by the second._

 _Eventually, those tracks lead into a clearing, which had a very large figure standing in the middle of it, while also emitting an ominous green glow. Upon gaining sight of him, Jack stopped in his tracks and widened his eyes in fear, with the Horseman narrowing his onto the Samurai in return._

" _Y… You?!"_

 _The Horseman didn't reply to Jack, only continuing to stare down the man in front of him._

" _Whe… where are the girls?!_ " _The Samurai questioned._

 _The large figure continued his silence. Eventually, the Samurai's fear of him slowly turned into anger, with Jack becoming frustrated as a result of this._

" _Where are they?!" He shouted out, "Did you hurt them?!"_

" _No." It spoke, "_ _ **You did.**_ _"_

 _Hearing that, Jack suddenly felt fear return to him, as well as confusion._

" _You are the reason why they won't stay safe." The Horseman continued, "Your efforts to protect them from harm will prove worthless."_

 _"N-no!" He stammered, "You are wrong!"_

 _"You are the wrong one, Samurai." It replied, "In more ways than you can possibly think."_

"Jack?!"

" _Those hunters out for your blood and theirs are only the least of your dangers._ "

"What is he doing, Ashi?!"

"I don't know! Jack! Wake up!"

 _"The greatest danger to those girls…"_

 _Getting off his horse, the figure floated towards him. Jack visibly recoiled when this happened, clearly intimidated by the large size that the spirit possessed._

" _ **IS YOU!**_ _"_

 _The forest suddenly erupted into flames and along with it, the screams of the people Jack failed to save suddenly began to echo through the forest, putting the man in a extreme state of distress. It didn't help that the Horseman continued to float above him, as if he was a manifestation of the omnipresent beings watching him from above, critically judging his character and his actions throughout the years. Fearfully staring up at the spirit, the man suddenly noticed something in the corner of his eye._

 _Looking at what caught his attention, Jack gasped if fear at the sight of several, screaming, humanoid figures on fire rushing for him. Pulling out his pistol, the Samurai attempted to cut them down by shooting at them until they collapsed. Unfortunately for him, more fire people showed up faster than he could shoot them. Eventually, the screaming horde became so massive that the pistol blasts no longer had any effect in dwindling their numbers and they swarmed the man, surrounding him from every direction. Feeling their scorching touch overwhelm him, Jack let out a loud scream of pain and anguish._

" _I thought that you'd have to be the one to protect the girls." The Omen spoke, his voice deafening the sounds of the screams and the burning forest, "No. It looks like they'll have to protect you from yourself."_

"JACK!"

 **The Real World**

"AH!" He yelled, shooting up from the ground.

Thankfully, that horrible instance of the girls disappearing from the cave, the Horseman making an appearance, and the onslaught of fire people was just another of Jack's nightmares. However, this one left him more uneasy than usual, as he was visibly shaking from the experience and the things that he saw.

"Jack?"

The sound of Ashi's voice shook the Samurai out of his trance. As he turned to face her, the man noticed that the Daughters of Aku all had concerned expressions their faces, with their worried eyes looking at him. Feeling a type of shame and disappointment within himself about the girls witnessing one of his many night terrors, the man closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

"Are… are you okay?" She asked.

" _I am sorry._ "

"Huh?" Ashi questioned.

Jack didn't reply, instead furrowing his brow due to the nightmare still being fresh in his mind.

"Jack?" Anzi started to ask, "Did…" She hesitated.

Hearing her hesitant tone, the man slowly reopened his eyes and made eye contact with the girl.

"What is it?" He questioned, trying to keep his tone as leveled as possible.

"Did… did you have a nightmare?"

With that question being brought up to him, the man's eyebrows raised up in response, before lowering down, along with his gaze. He didn't enjoy having the ones that were supposed to look up at him as their beacon of hope and protection seeing him have one of his many night terrors. Despite that, Jack knew that he'd have to come clean about this fact as well, since it wouldn't be right to lie about another one of his issues, especially since the revelation of the hallucinations were still fresh in their minds.

"I… Yes." Jack admitted.

"Why?"

The reasons why they occurred were due to many reasons, with the events that occurred in the Samurai's life being a main cause from the nightmares. However, the Daughters of Aku were still too young to fully understand the reasons why they occurred. Since this was the case, Jack believed that the best way of explaining it in a way that they could understand would be by reusing the same explanation for his hallucinations.

"Do you remember what I told you all... "The man paused, wanting to word his explanation in a way they could understand, "About why I… talk… to myself?"

"Because… you can't save some people?" Avi replied, remembering the explanation quickly.

"You are correct." Jack sighed, closing his eyes, "And that… is why I sometimes… _act_ how I do while asleep."

Looking back at the girls, the Samurai could clearly see the worried eyes and concerned expressions on their faces. Letting out another heavy sigh, the man didn't know what else to say and as such, looked the other way and shut his eyes once more, with the disappointment in himself growing greater by the second.

"Again." He repeated, " _I am sorr-_ "

Suddenly, Jack felt a pair of tiny arms wrap around his arm.

"It's okay, Jack." Ashi told him, trying to make their guardian feel better.

Opening his eyes, the Samurai saw that the Daughters of Aku got up from their sleeping places and were now within his vicinity.

"We can help!" Aki added.

"What do you mean?" The man asked, confused by what she meant.

"We can make the nightmare go away!" Ali said.

"Little ones, it is not that simple." He sighed.

"It worked when you did it to us." Anzi reminded, referring to the time _they_ had a nightmare.

Jack remembered that event, it taking place the night after he had first saved them from their horrible living conditions, with the man providing support for the girls during their fear induced states because of the nightmares they had. However, Jack felt that they had the wrong idea on how to assist him with the nightmare he had.

"Girls, you do not understand." Jack told them, "What I dreamt about… cannot be-"

"We promise that it will work!" Amori spouted out.

Despite her statement and the childish understanding of his issue, Jack let a small smile grace his lips. He knew that even though the Daughters of Aku didn't seem to understand that not every similar problem such as a nightmare can be solved the same way, he appreciated their concern and willingness to help him out.

"Thank you." He replied simply.

With that, the girls grabbed their blankets and snuggled closely to the Samurai. Watching the little girls fall asleep soon after, the man quickly forgot about his earlier distress and the cryptic, yet foreboding message that the Omen had revealed to him within his sleep. Instead, a feeling of peace and serenity overtook the man instead, allowing him to head into dreamland once more. As he did so, he promised himself to make sure that whatever the spirit foreboded, it wouldn't be happening on his watch.

 **The Next Day**

"That's good, Ashi!" Jack called out, "Attack again!"

As Jack and the Daughters of Aku woke up the next day, the man had them resume their training. Currently, the girls were showing the Samurai what they learned from the previous day on some dummies that he made from wooden sticks. Currently, Ashi was the last one to go and show Jack the new combat moves that she learned when he demonstrated what knowledge he possessed about fighting the day prior. So far, she had laid several quick punches on the dummy and continued to pummel it at the chest area until it collapsed once Ashi uppercutted it.

"That's enough, Ashi." He said.

With the girls having completed the first part of their training exercise, they took up the position of a single file line.

"It appears that you all have learned well." Jack told them, impressed by the skills they displayed, "Well done!" The man complemented.

The girls smiled and beamed at the praise their guardian gave to them, being glad that from now on, there wouldn't be any abuse leveled against them over any mistakes they made from.

"Now, we should work on protecting yourselves from a bounty hunter once more." He said, grabbing one of the sticks from the ground to use as a "sword", "Show me what you know."

With that, the septuplets backed up a little bit before quickly rushing out of the Samurai's sight into some bushes. With the events of this exercise from the previous day still being fresh in their minds, the girls decided to change tactics. With Ashi motioning her sisters to not do anything for a moment, she grabbed a rock that was near her and threw it near the cave's entrance. Hearing a noise behind him, Jack quickly turned around, predicting that it was one of the Daughters of Aku attempting to sneak behind him. However, his expectation proved false when he saw a moving rock bounce off the cave wall and onto the ground.

Realizing that the rock was meant to distract him, the Samurai quickly turned around and saw Ami jumping at him from a tree branch that she climbed up quickly, with the intention being to bring him down, like the course of action that she and her sisters done the day prior. Unfortunately for the girl, Jack quickly caught her in midair. However, he didn't anticipate the next course of action from the rest of the girls. Suddenly, Ashi, Aki, Ali, and Amori jumped onto Jack from their hiding spots.

Since he was unprepared to steady himself compared to last time, Jack began to stagger back and forth before falling on his back when Anzi and Avi jumped onto his arms from the side. Landing on the snow-covered ground, Jack groaned a bit as the girls got off him, being slightly worried that they may have hurt him in their takedown. As he got up though, he smiled at them.

"Well done." The man told them, "You all are learning well and fast."

Getting up, Jack prepared to give them another assessment on the training exercise.

"You girls did well with this exercise." He told them, "I believe that in the future, when you all learn more skills, your attacks and abilities will become more effective."

Taking in his assessment, the Daughters of Aku nodded and smiled. Additionally, they began to think about what those skills would be and how they could utilize them in later training exercises and eventually, actual combat.

"What can we do know?"

"Well…" Jack thought, rubbing his chin, "We can get started on using a something like a sword, if you want."

"Yeah!" They all replied.

"Okay." Jack responded, enjoying their enthusiasm, "Grab some of the-"

Before the man could finish his sentence, he and the girls heard the rapid sounds of thumping in the distance, with the forest visibly shaking due to this, causing Jack to release that whatever was causing this occurrence, it was coming in fast.

"What's that?!" Amori questioned, confused by the sounds in the distance.

"Girls! Hide!" The Samurai said quickly, motioning them to hide in the grass.

Even though the Daughters of Aku's minds were wracked by confusion by what they were hearing, the worried tone of their guardian caused them to abide by what he said, running and hiding into the grass. Hiding himself in the grass as well, Jack drew his pistol and awaited the arrival of the thing or things that were heading their way.

Sure enough, several Beetle Drones emerged from the thick wilderness. Upon seeing the mechanical monstrosities, the girls gasped in fear.

"Shh." Jack told them quietly, "Stay quiet." He told them, hoping that the Drones would go past them.

Unfortunately for Jack, the Beetle Drones suddenly stopped in their tracks and began scanning the environment. Seeing this, Jack grimaced, gaining an idea on why they happened to show up at the cave. The current location that he and the girls resided in at the moment wasn't too far away from the area where the Samurai fought off the latest bounty hunter. Knowing that, the man assumed that after the bounty hunter failed, Aku, with no other options, sent the Beetle Drones after him out of desperation.

Realizing that, Jack knew that the best course of action at the moment was escaping from the Beetle Drones. However, with them actively searching for him and by extension, the Daughters of Aku, he'd have to take out the group in front of him as fast as he could before anymore showed up.

"It's getting closer." Ashi whispered, warning Jack of a Drone that was dangerously close to their hiding spot.

"I know." He whispered back, knowing that he'd have to strike soon, "Girls, listen closely. When I attack, you run to the cave, as fast as you can. Understand?"

They nodded, although a fear of the new enemies spotting them when they would make an attempt to get to the cave remained. Pulling out his pistol, the Samurai cocked the slide, anticipating the fight that he was going to have. Hearing a noise coming from the grass right next to it, the Beetle Drone narrowed its eyes and turned towards the shrubbery, noticing the outline of a figure inside it.

That was the last thing the Drone saw, as not a second later, it received a blast to the face, putting it out of commission. Hearing a bang, the rest of the Beetle Drones turned towards the source of the sound and spotted the Samurai leaping up from his hiding place. Quickly assessing the situation, Jack saw that there were only six Drones in the current area, with him having already taken one out, compared to the hundreds of robots that the Shogun of Sorrow would send after him, during the usual encounters.

" _This is unlike, Aku, sending such a small number of Drones._ " He thought to himself, " _There must be more in the forest!_ "

With the chance of being swarmed being brought to his attention, the man made it his resolve to take out the Drones in front of him as soon as possible. Landing on the ground, he aimed and fired at the two Drones in front of him, quickly taking them out. Sensing an attack coming from his left, Jack rolled out of the way, dodging a swipe from the machine's claw. Getting back up, he quickly shot the Drone down and turned around, firing shots at the remaining two machines in the distance.

All the while, the Daughters of Aku quickly, yet safely, managed to slip through the chaos of the battle and into the cave. However, once there, they were unsure on what to do next, as their protector didn't elaborate on their directives up to this point before jumping into combat.

Holstering his pistol, Jack quickly ran over to the cave, needing to make a quick escape since he had a feeling that the Drones nearby were currently zeroing in on his position.

"Jack!" Anzi cried, "You made it!"

"We have to leave." He replied hastily, pushing his motorcycle out of the cave, "More will be coming, soon!"

Heeding to what he said, the girls hopped into the sidecar, with Jack starting up the motorcycle. He was glad that that he turned on his vehicle when he did because the forest began to shake violently once again, with more ferocity this time. Hitting the ignition, Jack sped out of the area just as the newly arrived Beetle Drone made their appearance. Spotting the speeding motorcycle, the machines narrowed their eyes at it, before pursuing.

Usually, when faced with situations such as this, Jack would've held his ground as he fought the onslaught of drones and turned each one of them into scrap metal. However, the circumstances behind this encounter with the murderous machines was different, compared to all the battles the Samurai had with them in the past. Firstly, as since he longer had his sword, the man doubted his ability to take them out efficiently. More importantly, since he had taken it upon himself to take care of the girls, in situations like this, there was too much at stake if he decided to simply hold his ground and fight, with the chance of one of them being horribly maimed during the battle being a great possibility.

Trying to evade the pursuing Beetle Drones, the man kept his eye on the path in front of him, taking routes which he hoped would throw the machines off his tail. Every time he looked back, they were still right behind him, causing the man to grit his teeth in frustration. Knowing that he'd have to at least get _some_ of them off his back, Jack grabbed some of his explosives and threw it backwards. Pressing the detonator, the man heard the explosive blow up, taking several Beetle Drones along with it. The resulting blast also knocked down some trees, with some collapsing on and crushing any Drone unfortunate enough to get caught under it.

At this point and time, Jack had sped out of the forest and into a snow covered plain field, although he didn't realize this yet, due to his focus still being on escaping from the Beetle Drones. Grabbing another explosive, the Samurai looked back and blew it up, taking out several more machines in the resulting explosion.

"Jack! Look out!" Ashi cried.

While Jack's attention was focused behind him, he didn't see the large rock in his path. Looking back, the man quickly swerved out of the way. Unfortunately, this quick action caused him to lose control of his motorcycle and fly off once he hit another rock that was in his path. The Daughters of Aku, since the sidecar didn't strap them down, flew out of it and landed on the ground with a yelp of pain, although the snow cushioned the fall.

"Argh!" Jack grunted, landing on the snow-covered ground, "Oh no!" He spoke, seeing the incoming Beetle Drones, realizing their dire position that the girls and himself were in.

Getting up from the ground, Jack quickly grabbed the machine gun of his bike and quickly rushed over to the Daughters of Aku, who had gotten up and were now frozen in fear at the sight of the rapidly approaching machines.

"Girls!" Jack shouted, stopping by them, "Are you alright?!"

"They're coming!" Ali cried out, pointing at the horde in front of them.

Growing an angry expression on his face, Jack stepped in front of the girls and began to unload the machine gun's payload into the incoming Beetle Drones, cutting down their numbers tremendously. Keeping up his assault, the machine suddenly clicked empty. Jack looked distressed for a second, before tossing the empty gun to the side and drawing his electric whip and pistol, aiming it at the remaining one hundred machines that were still functioning.

Unfortunately for the Samurai, the Drones, realizing that their target no longer possessed a rapid means of wiping them out, began to circle around him. Seeing this, Jack attempted to come up with a plan to combat their new strategy. All the while, the scared septuplets clung to the man, their minds wracked with fear on what was happening.

"I'm scared, Jack…" Aki whimpered.

"Me too…" Amori added, panting quickly.

"I know." He replied, "Stay calm. I will find a way out of this."

" _How, is a good question._ " Jack thought, not liking the odds stacked against him.

Suddenly, something that sounded like a Bugle pierced the air, catching the attention of both the Samurai and the Drones. What immediately followed this was several explosive arrows being shot up from behind a hill, flying towards the direction of the machines. Seeing this, Jack immediately lowered himself to ground and took the girls into a protective hug, wanting to ensure that they didn't get harmed by the resulting explosions.

Landing on the confused Drones, the arrows blew up, dwindling down their numbers from one hundred to a mere twenty left. Hearing that the explosions ended for the time being, Jack looked up to see several men, as well as one in a wheelchair come up from behind the hill.

"Finish em' off!" He yelled.

Abiding by what he said, Jack stood up and aimed his pistol at the remaining Beetle Drones, taking shots at them. All the while, the men up on the hill provided support with their explosive arrows, blowing up any Drone out of the Samurai's field of vision. In about thirty seconds, the machines were all destroyed. Letting out a sigh of relief, the man holstered his weapons and turned towards the people who assisted him, who have over down to him.

"I thank you for your…" The man began to say, before trailing off when he recognized the man in the wheelchair.

"Remember me?!"

 **I thank Spec Ops: The Line for providing me with the inspiration to get the chapter going, since writing the nightmare was giving me issues. Anyways, I hope this was substantial for you readers out there. Check back for Chapter 6, Lt-RexCole out.**


	7. Chapter 7: Hello, Old Friend

**Sorry for taking so long to update. Hope you enjoy what i have written here.**

"Remember me?!"

The memory of having those words spoken to him flickered through the Samurai's brain like the footage from a faulty camera, bringing him back to the days of his recent arrival to the future and the days where his idealism was still maintained. His travels had him meet all sorts of folk, whether it was scientists manipulated into creating something they had no hope of stopping or cackling demons who wished to add him to their collection of warriors like some sort of trophy. Out of all these people, the Scotsman was the one who stood out to him the most. After their first encounter, where they fought off several bounty hunters out for their heads, Jack believed that he would've never meet him again. Little did he know, they would meet again in a tavern, one where bounty hunters attempted to take Jack's life once again due to his crime of existing.

The two fighters would meet again a couple more times under different circumstances. After that, however, they didn't see each other for years. As such, Jack was thoroughly shocked and surprised. During the chase, the man had a feeling that he wouldn't have been able to get himself and the Daughters of Aku away from the pursuing Beetle Drones, especially after he crashed the motorcycle. The quick save from those archers led to them being able to live another day. However, to discover that the man leading the archers was Jack's old friend, the Scotsman, left him speechless for a bit.

"You?" He spoke, breaking his silence, "How did you-"

Jack was cut off by his Scottish friend embracing him, catching him off guard. Despite the wheelchair bound man's age, he was still as strong as ever.

"HA HA HA!" He laughed, "IT IS GREAT TO SEE YA' AGAIN, LADDIE!"

"Likewise." Jack choked out, attempting to smile despite his current position.

After a few seconds of this, the Scotsman let Jack go, with the man taking this time to catch his breath.

"Aye, how long was it since we last met?!"

"Years, I believe." He replied, "You've changed, old friend."

"So, have you! I can see tha' you aren't wearing them wee pajamas of yours anymore!" Scotsman laughed.

Jack laughed as well in response to this comment.

"What happened to you?" The Samurai asked, referring to his friend's wheelchair.

"Ah, this?" He replied, "Well, you know, me hunny bun, had to… you know." The man chuckled.

"Oh." Was all Jack could say in response to that, "How did you get here?"

"Wha'? Laddie, do you realize where you are?"

"Not… exactly."

"The Highlands!" He shouted out, raising his arms to the sky.

"Oh… that's right." Jack stated, recalling the events of the two heading out to save his wife many years ago, "I apologize. It has been years since I have been here."

Noticing something in the corner of his eye, Scotsman turned his head to see seven pairs of eyes belonging to seven little girls, who hid behind their protector.

"Oh, my stars…" He said, "Those are your wee little lassies, aren't they?"

"What?" The Samurai asked, before remembering that the Daughters of Aku were still with him.

Looking behind him, Jack could make out the nervous and fearful expressions they were making. He couldn't blame them, as not a minute ago, they were being pursued by Beetle Drones sent to take them. He also knew that they never really had any interaction with individuals who didn't want to do anything besides hurting them and himself.

"Do not worry." Jack told them, "He may seem impetuous but nonetheless, he is a good man. He is also a very good friend of mine. "

"Aye! We've met long ago!"

The word "friend" meant nothing to the Daughters of Aku, since Jack never explained what it meant. Not his fault though, as there wasn't an instance when they were either exploring, training, or having their lives threatened, where Jack could show them what having a "friend" was like.

"Why don't you introduce yourselves?"

The girls gulped, clearly showing their nervousness. However, considering man in front of them had a friendly conversation Jack akin to those that they would have with him and that despite being a boisterous individual, he at least hadn't spouted out anything about him taking out the Samurai for Aku.

"I… I'm Ashi." She spoke, before slinking back behind Jack.

"I'm Aki…"

"I'm Ali…"

"I'm Ami…"

"I'm Amori…

"I'm Avi…"

"I'm Anzi…"

"Aye, it's nice to meet ya'!" The Scotsman grinned.

The girls only nodded, avoiding eye contact with the strange man and retreating behind the Samurai.

"Y'know, I wouldn't have taken you as tha' "settlin-down" type, laddie." He told his friend, raising his eyebrows up and down.

"I don't understa-" The man tried to reply, before getting the wind knocked out of him as the Scotsman slapped him on the back. Hard.

"HA HA, YOU SLY DOG!" The Scotsman laughed, "YOU GOT BUSY!" The man said, stopping his laughter after a few seconds, "So… who was tha' lucky gal tha' won tha' heart of yours, laddie?"

"What?" The Samurai questioned, coughing.

"Your wife! Who did ya' manage to …?"

There it was again. The misinterpreted viewpoint of Jack and his supposed seven daughters. It wasn't the first time it happened, given what the merchant and the latest bounty said of them. The man couldn't really blame anyone but himself for this viewpoint of him being their father coming up a lot. It had been years since he saw anyone he could consider a close friend and when they could only come to the logical conclusion.

"Oh no, I have not settled with anyone." He tried to clarify, "And these girls aren't my daughters, I'm merely taking care of them."

Scotsman was flabbergasted by his friend's response.

"What?! Ya' mean they aren't ya' wee lassies?"

"That's correct."

"Jack, may I remind you tha' Aku is still out there'." He told him, "And tha' he'll do anything to destroy you! So why would you, outta all people, try to take care of some chil'ren?!"

The Samurai recalled the events at the Cult of Aku's temple, the words of the High Priestess flashing within the crevices of his brain.

" _They were meant to be the instruments of your destruction!_ "

"It is complicated." He admitted.

The Scotsman blinked at this response before shrugging his shoulders.

"I believe that you have your reasons."

The awkward turn of events led to the man wanting to change the subject, with Jack suddenly noticing the archers standing patiently by the Scotsman. If one thing was certain, whoever they were, nothing about them screamed "Scottish".

"Who are these people?" He asked.

"Recruits, laddie!"

"Recruits? What for?"

"What do ya' think?!" The Scotsman responded, "For finally taking out tha' blasted tree ogre, once and for all!"

Jack only raised an eyebrow in confusion, while the Daughters of Aku looked at each other, trying to see if any of them understood what the strange man said.

"Ah, I'll explain on the way back to tha' castle grounds!" He told them, "You will probably need a' rest, don't ya'?!"

"You would be right about that."

Picking up his crashed motorcycle, Jack motioned the girls to sit inside the sidecar while he wheeled it towards the main grounds, following the Scotsman and the archers. The endeavour only took a few minutes, with the oh-so familiar castle once again gaining the Samurai's sight, while the Daughters of Aku gazed at the structure with utmost curiosity.

The only difference now were the grounds around the castle. Compared to the empty grasslands that were left untouched last time Jack was there, there were shacks surrounding the castle, weapons and animals made for war, as well as training grounds, present instead. Jack then wondered if his old friend really was building an army to defeat Aku, or it was just the result of paranoia from an old man.

"Is all this for your recruits?"

"Aye!" The Scotsman replied, "If an army's needed to defeat Aku, they might as well have a' place to be!"

The more they went into the castle grounds, the more of their infrastructure became clearer. The Scotsman wasn't just running a army, he was running a force so massive that if Jack had any doubts about his sincerity, he wasn't having then anymore. Soon enough, the various training grounds could be seen, with the archers who had assisted them heading over to a shooting range, leaving the Samurai, the Daughters of Aku, and the Scotsman to themselves, the latter taking the time to show them around.

"So… what do you think, laddie?!" The Scotsman asked, stopping by a repair station.

"This force you amassed is quite massive." He replied, handing his motorbike to a repairman and motioning the Daughters of Aku to hop out of the side car.

"Ah well…" His friend paused, "I want to make sure tha' tree ogre will stay down for good!"

"Will you be commencing a attack soon?" Jack asked, a part of him hoped he wasn't.

"Ah, no! The way we are righ' now, won't be enough! We need to build it up a wee bit more! Then afterwards, that big baby will have no chance against us!"

Scotsman chuckled a little bit after that statement.

"But now, with you here…" He paused, "We'll have a' chance, laddie!"

"How?"

"Have you forgotten?! Your sword! With it and our army, Aku won't stand a chance!"

Jack grimaced, the memory of his rage filled killing off the innocent valley goats flashing through his brain like a cracked streetlight, as well as the subsequent loss of his sword acting as mocking reminder of his failure at that current moment to head back to his past.

"About that…"

Words that Scotsman didn't wish to hear came to light, his eyes scanning Jack's attire. Besides the obvious removal of the Samurai's trademark white robe, his selection of weapons were different. Besides the discarded machine gun he previously had, the man possessed a pistol, electric whip, trident, and throwing knives, with the clearly identifiable katana being absent.

"I… I no longer possess it."

"WHAT?! YOU LOST THE SWORD!"

There was no use denying it and Jack simply focused his eyes elsewhere, not wanting to witness his friends' disappointment and shock towards him, as he'd been getting it from himself for quite a while. The girls looked concerned at their guardian's current disposition, thinking to themselves that the sword must've been important. As for the Scotsman, he couldn't find the ability to say anything besides the initial outburst. Here he was thinking that Aku would be defeated sooner than he thought, before the reality of Jack's unfortunate situation promptly crushed that belief. Usually, he would've lambasted him with a series of insults for this mistake. However, Jack's downcast expression showed to him that he wasn't comfortable with this fact either.

"Ah, I'm sure tha' you'll get it back, laddie! Don' worry about it."

Jack nodded, but the reassurance didn't do much to quell his doubts about him _actually_ managing to get it back.

"In tha' case, Aku can wait for us till we are ready!" He told his friend, "When you get the sword back, we'll take the fight to tha' tree ogre then and ther'!"

"If you say so…" The man sighed.

Jack didn't want to stay despondent for long, especially in the presence of his friend and after the words that were said to him. A change of subject was needed and thankfully, the Scotsman was ready to provide it for him, despite the earlier incredulity which he had towards Jack's revelation.

"We can deal with this later." He said, "I got _somebodies_ that I want ya to meet!" Scotsman told him, turning his attention to the quietly standing Daughters of Aku, "I believe they'll be more ya' type, lassies!"

"Huh?" They all replied.

"Who are we meeting?" Jack asked.

"Me bonnie lassies!"

"You have daughters?"

"I do! Didn' I mention it back ther'?" Scotsman questioned, referring to where the two reunited after dealing with the Beetle Drones.

"Somewhat…?"

Following the Scotsman towards a separate training ground located by the castle, Jack and the Daughters of Aku eventually gazed on approximately twenty-nine identical looking teenage girls wielding swords and shields fine-tuning their combat skills against several wooden dummies. If these were the Scotsman's daughters, they clearly had fire in their hearts to become true warriors akin to their father in his prime.

"They grow up so fast…" The Scotsman said, a happy smile on his face, "I know tha' they will be true fighters when they are older." He added, wiping away happy tears that sprung up in his eyes.

"Are those your daughters?" Jack asked.

"Aye!"

"There are so many of them." He said, making the obvious observation.

" _That certainly explains the wheelchair._ "

"HA HA! You're right abou' tha', laddie! Want me to call em' over?"

 __"If you wish, but you don't have to do it yet if you want. They seem to be invested in their training." Jack replied, "And I do not wish to disturb it."

Jack's experience with many bounty hunters throughout the years, whether they were Aku's personal henchman or independent goons wanting to get a easy score, gave him awareness about how important training for battles was, especially if someone didn't know how to do it. The situation in his life where this rang true the most was when he helped the Monkey Man and his ape brethren learn to defend themselves against the apes who had been harassing them for the longest time. As such, the Samurai did not wish to take them out of their focus.

"It's alright, laddie. There'll be more time." Scotsman told him, "I'm certain tha' they'll be excited to meet you!" He paused, "Girls! Come over here!"

The previously focused teenage girls, upon hearing the voice of their father, stopped what they were doing. Confused as to why they were be called back, their eyes gained sight of the father being next to someone in samurai armor, someone who they haven't seen before. If they had to guess, they were to meet this person.

"Yes father?" His daughter, the one whose name was Flora, asked as she and her sisters walked up to him.

"Girls, I wanna' let you meet the man tha' I told ya' all about when you were little wee lassies!" Scotsman grinned, "Samurai Jack!"

The Scotsman's daughters initially reacted in shock and awe at the fact that the man their father repeatedly talked about was now standing amongst them. The bearded man in the samurai armor, the one who was practically the beacon of hope for the oppressed populace around the world, was right there.

"It's really him?!" She smiled.

"Aye, in the flesh!"

"I am honored to meet you all." Jack greeted, minus the bowing which he usually did.

"Wow." The daughter named Nora remarked, "I can't believe tha' this is happening!"

"Well, you all better star' believing it!" Their father laughed, "Because this laddie righ' here will be the one to finally take out that blasted tree ogre, once and for all!"

Jack shot his friend a look. The revelation of him having lost the sword long ago was overlooked, the Scotsman making it seem like he had the means to destroy the Shapeshifting Master of Darkness, even though he clearly didn't. His intuition, however, showed that his friend was either trying to provide a cover for him so the girls didn't suspect of him _not_ actually having a means of defeating Aku or that he was simply referring to the point where he would finally get his sword back. During Jack's thoughts about this, Flora noticed seven identical girls standing behind Jack, blinking at them.

"Aw… are those your wee little lassies?" Flora asked, echoing what her father said earlier.

Once again, Jack looked behind him to see the Daughters of Aku standing silently. At least they weren't hiding behind him in fear. Amusingly, the ensuing comments of their cute appearances from the Scotsman's daughters led to the girls blushing, not being used to getting the attention they were receiving.

" _At least they aren't frightened._ "

"What are their names?" A daughter named Bonnie asked.

"Oh…" Jack stuttered, "This is Ashi, Ali, Ami, Amori, Aki, Anzi, and Avi."

"Hi." They shyly greeted.

"Lemme introduce me lassies for you." The Scotsman cut in, "That's Flora, Maeve, Isla, Bradana, Murdina, Alana, Oban, Ardbey, Fiona, Assie, Bonnie, Lorna, Mawina, Shona, Nora, Piesil, Shanath, Euspeth, Edme, Freya, Gilbartha, Gesha, Grizela, Innes, Dawntha, Cora, Davina, Kina, and Aina."

With the introductions out of the way, something was made clear to the Scotsman's daughters. Not only did was their father's friend standing in front of them, he also had approximately seven, ten year old daughters along with him. That opened up another question on their minds, however.

"Aye, where's your wife?" Edme asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Ya, if you hav' girls, where is your wife?" Davina asked as well.

" _This is becoming tiring._ " The man inwardly sighed, "Oh, these aren't really my daughters. I am merely taking care of them."

That explanation only ended up confusing them. As for the Scotsman, he began to think about his friend's explanations whenever asked about the little girls with him. Every single time, he seemed to be dodging the true reason why they were with him. The explanation, "It is complicated" wouldn't be enough for the Scotsman, who was going to find out why Jack had bothered to take these seven girls under his protection.

"Girls, I'm going to talk with Jack inside tha' castle. Why don't ya' show his little lassies what the Highlands has to offer?" 

"Okay, dad!" Flora smiled, "Come with us. We'll show what we have in this wee place of ours." She told the Daughters of Aku.

They seemed nice enough but there was certain doubt in the girls' heads about going someone. As such, they hesitated.

"Don't worry, lassies!" The Scotsman said, "They won't hurt you!"

Still, the girls looked at Jack for confirmation.

"It is alright." He said softly, "Go."

Slowly but surely, the girls walked over to Scotsman's daughter, who took them by their hands and began to start showing the various things located within the castle grounds.

"Come on, Jack." Scotsman said, rolling towards the castle, "We hav' to talk."

Jack sighed, having an idea on what his friend would question him about. With no other alternative, he followed the wheelchair bound man into the castle that was familiar to him.

 **The Castle**

Stepping inside, the memories of the first time he arrived at the Scotsman's home was once again brought back into his mind. Jack remembered how his friend's fellow clansmen responded to his arrival, judging his appearance, demeanour, and overall person. However, the Scotsman's reprimanding to his fellow Scottish brethren and Jack's victory in the challenge quickly shut down any doubts that had about him.

That was years ago and now, the previously packed table filled with men eating haggis and playing bagpipes was currently empty and quiet.

"Ah, you remember this place, laddie?!" His friend grinned.

"I do. It has been years."

"But nothin' changed as much as you think, huh?"

"I suppose not." The Samurai responded, sitting down in one of the many seats present, "You wanted to ask me about something?"

"Aye." The Scotsman said as he rolled up on the side adjacent to where Jack was sitting, "Quite a few things."

"Okay. What do wish to know?"

"First, how did you lose tha' sword of yours?!"

The man grimaced, the old memories rewinding inside his troubled mind. Shortly after returning a baby he had been protecting to its family, Jack realized that he couldn't keep up the routine of just helping everyone who needed help, as it didn't bring him closer to the goal of getting back to the past. To make the matter of getting back home even more precedent, areas where Jack was supposedly sure that a time portal existed there, didn't have it. The only logical conclusions were that he'd been duped or that Aku was playing dirty by destroying his enemy's only means of defeating him for good. Assuming the latter, Jack wasted no time trying to find another time portal.

And find he did. As Jack trudged up the path of a mountain, he managed to find the time portal, probably the last in existence, thanks to three little goats which helped point him in the right direction. There wasn't a dramatic walk towards the end of his journey, rather a mad dash to finally achieve what he had long fought for, which was the defeat of Aku in the past. Jack even managed to get inside the portal but much to his dismay, Aku had caught up to him in time and promptly pulled him out.

" _Whoo. That was close._ " Aku remarked, wiping his "forehead", " _I didn't think you'd get here so fast._ "

Even if he'd been pulled out, Jack wasn't willing to let his nemesis get the last laugh on him and attempted to re enter the portal. Unfortunately, Aku achieved that last laugh when he promptly blew up the portal with his eye beams.

" _Oh, fun fact._ " The Demon mockingly stated, a malicious grin on his face, " _That was the last time portal IN EXISTENCE!_ "

The Samurai couldn't believe it. He had been so close to winning, so close to finally defeating Aku and wiping his tyranny from existence. And it had blown away within the time span of thirty seconds. Normally, the anger would've been boiling inside, with the only indication of this emotion being his trademark look creeping onto his face. Not this time.

The vexation of this misfortune overridden any possibility of Jack thinking clearly. Instead, he let his emotions take over, causing him to attempt a neutralization of Aku, right then and there. However, the Shogun of Sorrow anticipated Jack's reaction and promptly made his escape, but not before mutating the innocent little goats into feral beasts, who promptly went after the Samurai.

Even if these were the same goats that had helped point Jack to the time portal not a minute ago, it didn't matter. The man wanted retribution for the destruction of his only means of getting home and in the span of thirty-five seconds, ended their lives with his blade. However, death returned them to their normal forms, giving Jack a cold reminder that his latest enemies weren't the latest bounty hunter of the week, but rather creature forced to fight him thanks to Aku's sadism and his wish to inflict pain and suffering on others.. Dropping to his knees, thoroughly shocked and disgusted with what he had done, the Samurai didn't notice his sword, which he dropped, rolling towards the giant hole where the portal used to be. At the last second, the man attempted to grab it before it fell down the hole. However, Jack was too slow and his weapon, the only thing in existence capable of slaying Aku, fell the bottom of the hole which had been once been Jack's only way of getting home, serving as a mocking reminder of his failure for years to come.

"Jack? Jack?!" Scotsman said suddenly, snapping him out of the memory, "Get a' hold of yourself, laddie!"

"Huh?! What?!"

"You just went off into your own wee world!"

"Oh." He sighed, "I apologize."

"No need to get worked about tha', laddie." His friend reassured, "If you don't want to talk abou' it, we don't have to."

"No, it is alright." Jack sighed, "It is just that the memory… is not one I am comfortable with. But… this is what happened."

The wheelchair bound man leaned forward, anticipating the retelling of the event which resulted in his friend's loss of his valuable weapon.

"It was many years ago." He started to say, "I had almost succeeded in achieving victory over Aku, as I had found the _final_ time portal left in the world."

The Scotsman nodded, being aware of the Samurai's overall goal, having been briefed on his overall objective many years ago.

"Three goats had pointed me to it and… I had made it inside. But… Aku had managed to catch up with me and threw me out."

His friend raised an eyebrow at this detail.

"Then… the portal was destroyed. With my only way home gone, I… lost my way." He admitted, "I couldn't contain my anger and I wanted to make Aku pay for what he had done. But… he had anticipated this response from me."

The next detail caused the normally stoic man to display a troubled expression, but nonetheless, he continued.

"The goats were transformed into feral beasts, forced to fight me against their will. I was blinded by my rage, my sword being used to end their lives." Jack explained, shaking his head, "It was there, in the realization of my mistake, where the sword had fallen into the whole which had once the time portal."

Jack shut his eyes and sighed.

"And so, I was not able to find it again."

"The weapon rejected you, didn't it?"

"I suppose it did." He replied, "If I hadn't acted like a fool, I wouldn't be like this, helpless against the possibility of Aku attacking again."

"Laddie, it ain't your fault for that mistake of yours! That blasted tree ogre wanted to get you there because he too much of a wee baby to take you on directly! All he wants to mess with your head."

" _Then he has succeeded._ " The Samurai thought, if his hallucinations could be attested to anything.

The Scotsman paused for a second before continuing.

"But did you try to head down tha' hole to get the sword back?"

"No." Jack shook his head, "It appeared to head down for miles."

"Well, do you think it's still there?!"

"If nothing has changed at the mountain, then I suppose it has."

"I know tha' you'll get it back, laddie." He said, repeating what he told Jack earlier.

"Thank you."

" _At least there is some belief in me still left_."

The two paused their discussion for a brief moment, as Scotsman tried to remember what else he wanted to ask his friend about.

"What is it?"

"Ah, I've meaning to ask you about them wee little lassies of yours!"

"What do you wish to know?"

"Just how did you meet em'?" The Scotsman said, "If they aren't really your wee little lassies."

"This is what happened."

He could remember the what went down at that temple as if it happened the day before. For forty years after the loss of his sword, Jack had just been wandering the world, helping whoever needed help and fighting whoever wanted the bounty on his head, just like he'd always been. Compared to previous idealistic hero the Samurai was previously, Jack was not a cynical shell of his former self, haunted by his failure of not making it to the past when he could. Plus, being in a future where he had no hope of getting out of degraded his mental stability. However, coming across a cult of Aku worshippers led to the Samurai's life being changed forever.

"It was during my many travels. After the loss of my sword, I merely traveled, as if that could make my failure less noticeable." He explained, "Then one day, my eyes gazed upon an ominous structure in the distance."

"Where them girls were?"

"Yes, and along with them, were a group of Aku worshippers, training them for combat and for the eventual task of ending my life."

The Scotsman was speechless, not making any of his usual remarks, as the idea that there were people in the world who _worshipped_ the demon who laid waste to the world shocked him.

"Through a crack in within the temple walls, I saw the girls being… hurt by those women." Jack continued, "I couldn't let it happen any longer and I made my way inside."

Jack shut his eyes in pain at the memory of him realizing that the Cult of Aku were flesh and blood, which had forced him to do something he didn't want to do for the rest of his life. Take a life.

"Where are them she-dogs now?" His friend asked, his tone of voice showing that he was angry.

Jack didn't reply but he didn't need to, as his silence gave the Scotsman clear indication of what became of the cultists during their battle with Jack.

"I… I sometimes wonder if I could've saved those girls without resorting to bloodshed." Jack spoke, "Without having to take a life."

Unexpectedly, Scotsman slammed an arm down the wooden table, startling the Samurai for a second.

"There was no other way of doing them she-dogs in, laddie!" He said, "You shouldn't beat yourself over it! They got what they deserved!"

"I suppose…"

"If me lassies were the ones them cowardly she-dogs were pummeling, you would know tha' I would've taken them out the same way too!"

After Scotsman's mild rant, the two sat silently, not knowing how to continue this discussion of theirs.

"That is why them wee lassies of yours is with you, isn' it?"

The man thought about what was said to him, realizing that it spoke the truth about his new circumstances and the new responsibility which had befallen him that day.

"Yes." He nodded, "It is my fault for why these girls exist. I suppose that my undertaking to care for them is a sort of apology for the horrible way they have been treated."

"I am sure tha' the wee lassies appreciate what you did for them."

After having to go back and explain two points in his life where nothing but terrible things occurred, either done to him or committed by him in self defense, Jack needed a change in subject. And what better change in subject than the "Aku Resistance" that his Scottish friend has built up?

"About this resistance…"

"Hmm?"

"When do you think you will be ready?"

"Ah, probably not for a couple of years." The Scotsman admitted, "After all, me bonnies need to finish tha' training of there's before they can fight alongside us!" He explained, "Also, no point in going after Aku without your sword."

'Alright."

"Take all the time you need, laddie." His friend smiled.

 **Meanwhile**

While their father and his newly arrived friend headed into the castle to talk about something which appeared to be of utmost importance, the Scotsman's daughters took it upon themselves to show the Daughters of Aku what the Highlands. This proved to be a good idea, as not only was the curiosity of the little girls sated but they gradually grew more comfortable within the presence of somebody who wasn't their guardian. The Scotsman's daughters didn't have a clear idea for why these girls were nervous to be around other people, although they ended up chalking it up to not having many opportunities of being social.

"What's that?" Anzi asked.

"Tha's where Dad keeps all the weapons!" Nora replied. 

"What's that?" Ali asked.

"Tha's where Dad keeps the munitions!" Bonnie replied.

"What's that?" Ashi asked, pointing to a decently sized building.

"Oh, tha's the personal quarters tha' Dad made for us!" Flora replied, "Want to see inside?"

"Is it okay?"

"Of course, you wee lassies." The teenaged woman.

Heading over to the establishment, the Scotsman's daughters opened the front door, allowing the Daughters of Aku to head inside and get a good view of the surroundings. The home which housed the Scotsman's family was certainly massive, but that was to be expected when his number of offspring amounted to precisely twenty-nine daughters.

"It's big." Amori commented.

"Yeah, Dad wanted to make sure tha' we could sleep in that same house without needing one of us to sleep outside." Innes stated.

"Girls! What are you doing back here?!" A voice yelled from another room in the house, "Ain' you supposed to be training?!"

"Dad said we could stop for now and show the wee lassies of his friend around!" Oban yelled out.

A few seconds later, the girls could hear footsteps coming closer, as if the mother, at least what the Daughters of Aku though, wanted to see them for herself to see that her daughters were telling the truth and not trying to skimp out on their training. A very round, old lady suddenly came into view. To the Scotsman's daughters, it was merely their mother and nothing more. However, for the Daughters of Aku, the large size of the woman brought back memories of their forced training by their mother and the brute she sicced on them.

" _Get ready for your next test._ "

The subconscious fear of the assault from the brute, even if she and the girls' mother were clearly different people, resulted in the frightened little girls hiding behind the Scotsman's daughters. This caught the attention of both the older girls and the Scotsman's Wife, being overall confused by this reaction.

"Huh? Are you okay, lassies?" Flora asked.

The girls couldn't respond, as their minds kept the flashbacks of them getting beat up by the brute going, as the Scotsman's Wife unintentionally triggered the traumatizing memory. Thanks to some quick intuition, the teenaged girls managed to deduce that their mother was what set them off.

"Oh, don't be afraid." Isla told them, "Our Mom might seem a wee frightening but we promise, she's very nice!"

"Aye! I'm sorry for scaring you wee lassies. I just wanted to see the ones who got me daughters out of training." She smiled.

There it was, the reassurances that everything was fine and that their fears of an never coming retribution were just the result of some terrible memories and childhood experiences. Within a short time, the girls were back to their normal selves, for the most part. However, the Scotsman daughters wanted to know why their mother sent them into such a fearful state, as more had to be at play.

"Um… lassies..." Fiona asked, "What was the alarm?"

They didn't know, obviously. They weren't there when Jack saved them from their horrible living standards and thus, didn't know the real reason for any panic attacks that might occur. Looking at each other, they debated even explaining what happened through the looks on their faces. In the end, however, Ashi sighed and spilled the truth behind the reasoning for their fearful states, albeit with just enough detail so they could understand. By the end of it, the Scotsman's Wife and daughters were horrified by the treatment they underwent in the cultists care.

"Oh, you poor wee bairns." The Scotsman's wife said upon hearing this story.

To make the girls feel better, especially after they were forced to explain the what had happened to them when in the cultists' care, she took all of them into a tight hug, as if the silent consolation would be enough to the will away the painful memories. The girls smiled, appreciating the act of kindness, while also being glad that people who possessed the same kind qualities as their guardian existed in the world.

 **Meanwhile**

After discussing the events which led to Jack losing his sword and discovering the Daughters of Aku, as well as going over a sort of plan to make the Scotsman's Aku Resistance army even bigger, with the general consensus being to recruit even more people who wanted Aku destroyed. And since Jack had helped out many people throughout the years, many who owed their debt to the Samurai, now seemed about the right time to call in some favors. Once the discussions ended, the two men exited the castle grounds.

"You know, laddie." The Scotsman started to say, "I'm aware tha' you should head and recruit more to the cause… but why don't you stay here for a while?"

"I'm not sure that my presence here would be a good thing." Jack replied, "What if Aku realizes I do not have my sword anymore? He might come here and-"

"Ah, I doubt tha' miserable tree ogre figured tha' out. If he had, you probably wouldn't be standing here righ' now."

"Right."

"So, why don't you make yourself at home, at least for now?"

"Sir." A recruit called out, walking up to the two.

"Huh? What is it?"

"We spotted something that looked like some sort of robot."

"I'll be back." The wheelchair bound man told the Samurai, following the soldier.

Watching the two walk away, in the back of the Samurai's mind, he thought about the offer of staying at the Highlands. Seeing as this was practically the safest place in a world that wanted him dead at every turn, Jack decided that this was practically the best place to raise the Daughters of Aku, as the possibility of their lives being threatened was minimal.

" _What interesting places you bring us too._ "

Recognizing the voice, the man narrowed his eyes in annoyance and turned around, the familiar, mocking apparition of his every judgement standing right behind him.

"What do you want now?" Jack asked.

" _I'm just here to remind that even if you think you're safe, you're not!_ "

The Samurai continued to stare at his hallucinatory self.

" _Just because you ended up where no bounty hunter can possibly get to you or those girls, that does not matter about Aku!_ It ranted, " _The moment he learns that you have no sword, there will be no stopping him!_ "

"And may I remind you, Aku doesn't know and he hasn't shown himself in years."

" _Maybe not now. Maybe not for another few months. But the time when he learns this will come. IT WILL BE YOUR DOWNFALL!_ "

"Maybe you should realize that these unfortunate circumstances can be resolved." He replied coldly, "Or do you choose not to consider all possibilities."

Honestly having enough of his hallucinatory self judging his actions, Jack simply walked away, his new focus being to find the girls.

 **Check back for more.**


	8. Chapter 8: Altercation

**Welcome back. However, before I start, I need to say something. Previously, in chapter 4, I outlined which girl was which based off InYuJi's Samurai Dad 3 art. Despite this, I don't even know if I should do follow with those designs or do something original. So, as of now, I'm undecided on the matter. However, their hairstyles still changed, idk if that means anything in the grand scheme of things.**

 **But anyways, let's get back to the "plot".**

"And may I remind you, Aku doesn't know and he hasn't shown himself in years."

" _Maybe not now. Maybe not for another few months. But the time when he learns this will come. IT WILL BE YOUR DOWNFALL!_ " Jack's hallucination yelled at him

"Maybe you should realize that these unfortunate circumstances can be resolved." He replied coldly, "Or do you choose not to consider all possibilities."

Honestly having enough of his hallucinatory self-judging his actions, Jack simply walked away, his new focus being to find the girls, as they'd gone with the Scotsman's daughters when his friend wanted to speak with him, namely about the loss of his sword, the Daughters of Aku, and about the next moves when it comes to the force which was built up.

However, these issues would be resolved in due time. The girls were further down the Highlands and he had to check up on them. As he walked through the bustling Highlands filled with soldiers either training or crafting weapons, the Samurai thought about their luck so far. While it was obvious that making it to the Scotsman's homeland would allow the Samurai to lay low for a while as he pulled himself together.

Not only did he find a place to stay off the radar whenever he wasn't off being the hero that the populace of the world who wasn't a bounty hunter or a Aku cult revered, he also had a place to safely raise the Daughters of Aku. No longer would he have to look over his shoulder and keep a eye out for any attackers out for the blood of him and his girls. They would be safe within the Highlands. They would stay safe as they grew up as normal children and trained without having to fear for their lives.

Despite this, the thought of Aku making an unexpected appearance crossed Jack's mind more than once. After all, just because he was out of the range of any bounty hunters wishing to do harm to him, it didn't mean that Aku was suddenly incapable of ending his forty-year streak of pulling a Houdini and make a reappearance. Jack knew that Aku could materialize without the man knowing, as that was how the two would start their many battles decades earlier. And from experience and watching many events occur, the army the Scotsman amassed wouldn't be able to put a dent on the demon.

" _Aku_ _doesn't know._ " Jack reminded himself, " _He hasn't shown himself in years_."

Although the fear that Aku would reappear was still prevalent on the Samurai's mind, he quickly refocused on finding the girls, as thinking negatively wouldn't be helpful, especially when he had every right to be at peace thanks to the fact that he and the girls were brought to a safe area. Of course, Jack was aware that simply being away from danger wouldn't be enough and once he was ready, he'd have to take drastic measures to improve his situation. Whether it was finding his sword or recruiting the many people he helped over the years, the Samurai knew that he'd had to do at least something, since the routine he stuck with over the years didn't help him in the slightest, as the obligation of fighting bounty hunters, saving people from certain death, and maintaining his status as an icon of hope amongst Aku's tyranny couldn't be held up for long, among under things.

Among Jack's self-reflection of his past events and the judgements for the future, he realized that he didn't know where the Scotsman's daughters took the girls, leading to him looking foolish as he walked aimlessly. However, he soon noticed them walking out of a building with smiles on their faces. Their eyes soon gazed upon their guardian and before the man knew it, they had run over to him and suddenly bombarded him with a series of joyful descriptions of what they had seen.

"Jack! Jack! We saw-" Ashi started to say.

"-they have so many-" Anzi said, talking at the same time as her other sisters.

"-a house! And it's big!" Amori said, doing much of the same.

"Girls, girls, please. One at a time." Jack cut in, although with a smile, "I cannot hear what you have seen when you are-"

"Ah! So, you're the father of these wee little lassies!" A boisterous voice rang out, which sounded awfully familiar to the Samurai.

And sound familiar it did, with Jack's happy expression slowly morphing into a mix of seriousness and fear. As he removed his focus from the girls, the samurai's gaze focused on a very large woman standing in the doorway of the building the girls walked out of. He could clearly tell that it was the Scotsman's wife, clearly looking aged since Jack last saw her all those years ago, but she looked no less intimidating, causing the usually stoic man, given what he had been through, to feel a sense of fear that was unlike any he usually felt.

Truthfully, Jack knew that he'd have to encounter the Scotsman's wife once again, especially if he was going to make the Highlands his place of residence for the foreseeable future. However, his preferred way of having the reintroduction go down would be having his Scottish friend accompany him and get the two settled with each other under different terms.

Unfortunately, this was where the Samurai was. Facing down the big, burly wife of one of his best friends and closest allies, who possibly held a grudge against him over his unintentionally offensive comment despite it being years since they saw each other and by extension, years since she chased him down. Jack didn't like the way the show started.

"Oh… miss…" Jack nervously stammered, "I didn't expect to see you-"

"Ah, what are you blabberin' about, tryin to change tha' question an' all?" The Scotsman's Wife told him, "I asked you one and I expect an' answer!"

"I… I…"

The girls gave each other confused glances as they watched Jack's nervous and timid reaction to the big woman currently staring him down. They didn't get why he was acting the way he was, since she was very nice to them, especially since she helped them calm down and relax after having to retell their past. If they could guess, he probably got on their bad side. The Scotsman's daughters, who had walked out to see this happen, felt the same way and gave each other the same, perplexed looks towards one another.

"What?! Is your thoughts a wee bit disarranged for a bumbling brute such as you?!" She continued, "Your tryin' to be better than you were before, aren' ya?! Replacing them wee pajamas and slippers of yours to try and make yourself look tough! You ain't scaring me anytime soon, you raggedy, _feusag,_ looking lout!"

Although they didn't want to be disrespectful to their guardian, the Daughters of Aku couldn't help but crack a smile that the verbal beatdown Jack was receiving. It was something funny and by extension, refreshing to see and hear in their lives, having not been able to receive it or witness it previously. By the end of it, they've lost any sense of being discreet with their emotions and giggled at what she had said. The Scotsman's daughters did much of the same once more, finding it especially humorous that the savior of the world and the only man capable of defeating Aku was reduced to a meek individual when faced with their mother.

"Well, I…"

"Well I what? What do you got to say abou' tha'?!"

Completely paralyzed in fear, Jack could only give a sheepish, nervous smile as a response to the intimidating woman, feeling sweat run down his forehead like the raging flow of water on a waterfall. He'd hoped that he wouldn't have gotten on her bad side but that seemed to be an impossibility at this moment. The man could only assume that his current predicament was just another occurrence of bad luck to be added to his already long list of misfortunes.

"Let me guess." She arbitrarily said, "You're scared because of wha' happened them years ago, aren't you?!"

He knew what she was talking about. The time when the Scotsman dropped in out of the blue to recruit him in rescuing here. The process of sneaking past the mechanical demons who wished to eat here was the easiest part of the rescue mission, not so much the process of sneaking out successfully. However, that ended up not happening, given her loud complaints throughout the whole way down from the tower she was being held in. The resulting fight afterwards was quickly, although humorously ended once the leader of the mechanical demons made the mistake of calling her "fat". As they were leaving, Jack made the same mistake when referring to the castle door not being big enough to fit her, leading to him running for his life.

Truthfully, the man had forgotten how he had escaped from the Scotsman's Wife to begin with. And now, despite being years since that point, especially since she aged quite a bit, the Samurai hoped that he wouldn't be getting a beatdown over something he didn't think would be offensive. Guess that was the day of the races.

"I… um…"

Suddenly, her hand came down and Jack braced himself for the possible thrashing he would receive. However, all he received was a hard slap to the back, stronger than the one the Scotsman had given him previously. Although it wasn't the beat down he was dreadfully anticipating, he still had the wind knocked out of him.

"Ah, what were worried about, you dolt?!" She asked, her tone of voice being considerably nicer, "I wasn' goin' to kill you over tha' thing you said years ago!"

"With you, it is hard to tell." Jack muttered quietly.

"HUH?!"

"Nothing!"

"Them blasted recruits, scared by a wee bit of scrap metal!" A voice range out, progressively getting closer.

Turning around, the Samurai noticed the Scotsman, looking mighty annoyed, rolling up to where he was standing.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"Them recruits be paranoid, laddie! Thinking Aku's minions be travelin' over to the Highlands."

"Oh."

Even if it was a false alarm made by jumpy recruits who sounded ready to sound the alarm over anything suspicious looking, Jack's downcast expression upon hearing this made him think that deciding to make the Highlands his temporary residence was a decision he made without thinking about all the possible factors that could effectively make that decision one that he could possibly regret. The biggest one would be Jack's presence being discovered in the Highlands by bounty hunters looking for him, leading to attacks on the usually secluded area. And from experience and witnessing it occur in front of his eyes, he'd figure that there'd be one that could tear through the recruited soldiers with ease. This thought, much like the worry of Aku showing up out of the blue after discovering that the man had lost his sword, put a damper on his confidence. Thankfully, Scotsman changed the subject once again.

"Ah, I see you've all met me hunny bun again, laddie." He observed, "Didn't you, you wee lassies?"

"Yeah." The girls nodded.

"Aye!" The Scotsman's wife replied, smacking the Samurai on the shoulder once again, causing him to wince.

"Well, I hope tha' me bonnie lassies helped to get settled in!"

"They did!" Ali replied.

There, everything seemed to be alright for the moment. Jack and the Daughters of Aku were now in a relatively safe zone after reuniting with the Samurai's old friend. Jack could raise them without having to worry about anyone wishing to do harm to him, doing harm to the girls as well. Additionally, the girls could grow up normally amidst the training, no longer needing to worry about making it through the day intact. All seemed well, but Jack knew things still needed to be done.

"Might as well show where you and your wee lassies will be sleeping, laddie." The Scotsman told him.

"If it is alright for you."

"What do you think?" He laughed, "Come on, I'll show you to your quarters." He said, turning around.

The Samurai and the Daughters of Aku followed the Scotsman to where the building that they would call their residence. As they did, Jack suddenly felt a tugging at his sleeve.

"Jack." Ashi said.

"Yes?"

"I… I think I'm going to like it here." She smiled.

"Me too." Aki added, with the rest of her sisters nodding with her.

That brought a smile to the man's face, as with the other instances of their clearly visible happiness. However, this time, it showed him that he was one step closer to getting the life the girls deserved.

Despite this, Jack knew that he couldn't play parent for too long. The world was still in a state of disrepair and anarchy thanks to Aku's rule and the Samurai would have to work hard more than ever to fix it up. And as much as he hated to admit it, Jack had several of his own issues to resolve, namely his hallucinations, reacquiring his sword, and the Omen. He wanted to get a head start, before his good luck finally ran out.

 **A Few Days Later**

After a few days of adjusting to life in the Highlands with the Daughters of Aku, who were enjoying the new place that they called home, Jack decided that it was time to complete what needed to be completed to bring Aku down. Heading by the mechanic for to check up on his motorcycle, Jack had a new goal in mind and along with it, a new drive to accomplish it. No longer would he simply travel the world and help those that needed help. Rather, he'd call in favors from those he had helped over the years, if they were still alive, and if luck was truly on his side, he'd reacquire his sword, silence the mocking apparitions that were his hallucinations, and he'd get rid of the Omen.

Afterwards, if all this checked out, Jack would be back on his feet, minus the ability to get back to the past, and would be able to take Aku head on and hopefully, put him down for good. Still, recruiting members for the Scotsman's resistance, raising the girls, and training them to be fighters would be a long process. With a lot on his plate, Jack wanted to start of easy. So, he was getting ready to go back to the cave he and the girls previously resided at to reattain some items that they could get during the Beetle Drone attack.

As of now, he was preparing to ride off on his motorcycle. In preparation for a fight, he brought along his trident, whip, two pistols, and another machine gun. From experience, he could tell predict that Aku would have somebody or something waiting for him at the cave.

"Are you sure tha' you want to leave so soon, laddie?" Scotsman asked, watching his friend prepare.

"Aku's influence does not wait for anything." Jack replied, "And if we wish to win, I'll need to act so soon."

Jack revved his motorcycle a few time to check its stability and noticed that everything checked out.

"But, what I am about to do won't take long." He added, "I just need to reattain some supplies from the cave."

The Scotsman nodded but soon noticed the Daughters of Aku standing idly by. They looked sad, however, causing him to think that didn't tell them about what he'd be doing or that he didn't elaborate enough.

"Are you leaving?" Ashi asked quietly, hoping that he wouldn't be abandoning them.

The tone of voice made Jack realize that they assumed he'd be leaving them in the Highlands for good, while he went off and did his own thing. That wasn't true and he wanted to make it clear, getting off his motorcycle and walking over to the girls, kneeling to their height.

"Yes, but only for a short time." He explained, "I just need to get our possessions from the cave and then, I will come right back."

The girls nodded, feeling their anxiety go away.

"But…" Jack interjected.

And that anxiety came back.

"There will be times where I'll be away for longer than a day."

"Why?" They asked, confused.

"Well…" He sighed, "Someone needs to challenge Aku's rule, to undo all the evil he has done. And that someone has to be me."

Despite them nodding in response, their sad expressions gave Jack a sense of guilt for giving them the impression that he'd be abandoning them for periods of time. He didn't want them to think that but given the circumstances of him journeying over to those he helped to call in favors, Jack predicted that it'd take more than a few days for each group, especially depending on where they currently resided.

"I know that it may be a lot to take in." Jack said, pulling all of them into a hug, "But I promise that I will come back each time."

"You promise?" Avi asked.

The armor-piercing question made Jack think about the logistics of him being able to come back to the Highlands each time, relatively unscathed. Given the fact that the gods Odin, Ra, and Rama have ceased all contact with Jack and the cold hard truth that Aku was probably pulling every string he could to have the Samurai killed, it wouldn't be very likely. He couldn't tell the girls that.

"Yes. I promise." He replied, exiting their hug, "Remember to be on your best behavior."

"We will!"

And so, with the goodbyes all said and done, Jack took off on his motorcycle. Heading for the cave, he hoped that his current objective would be a simple snatch and grab of the supplies he'd left behind, without any altercation.

 **Check back for more. Also, random side not, I've been trying to get a cover made for this story but I've failed about four times now. However, one will get made, I just want to let you know that the cover for the story won't be my profile picture for long. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this.**


	9. Chapter 9: Cave Fight

**Welcome back. Let's continue on.**

The sound of a motorcycle engine echoed through the empty forest, with the respective vehicle tearing through said forest with newly found determination and with it, a new goal in mind. That goal was a very simple one. Calling in all the favors from all the people he saved over his approximately forty year tenure as the man fighting Aku's evil. And with the Shapeshifting Master of Darkness currently hiding himself away in his tower, not having been seen ever since he destroyed the last time portal, the Samurai had all the time in the world to achieve what needed to be done.

Course, that would be true as long as his good luck continued from here on in and Jack knew that, since the last time bad luck graced his person, he lost his trademark weapon and sent the well being of the world and his own mental state, if the Omen was anything to go by and something to be dealt with in the near future. The encounter wasn't something he was looking forward to but like all the trials and tribulations Jack had just now decided to undertake, a dangerous fight with the Omen would most likely be happening in the near future. He wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

"Ergh!" Jack grunted, shaking his head to rid himself of the self-doubting thoughts, "I need to focus."

Turning his attention back onto the reason why the Samurai was driving back into the woods, Jack remembered that he needed to obtain some items that were left behind at the cave he and the Daughters of Aku used to stay at before they had to make a quick escape from the swarms of Beetle Drones presumably sent by the Shapeshifting Masters of Darkness himself in desperate bid to kill the immortal Samurai once again, it being clear that Aku had not learned from past experiences where those Beetle Drones would be mowed down by the dozen, no matter if Jack had the sword or not. The littered corpses of the Beetle Drones that Jack saw on the way back to the cave reaffirmed this assessment.

The motorcycle finally brought Jack to his destination, approximately ten good minutes after he left the Highlands. Thinking he'd made good time, the man hopped off his ride and quickly made it over to the cave to make the snatch and grab. Unfortunately, his hopes of that quick snatch and grab being a reality were dashed once mines planted in the ground launched up and exploded. Jack acted fast and dived to the ground, avoiding the blasts above him. He wasn't injured but the placement of the mines told him that someone or something knew he was coming.

" _Looks like the explosives went off._ " A robotic voice rang out from behind Jack, " _Shame they didn't just end you right then and there._ "

Sure enough, it was another bounty hunter looking to the claim the price on Jack's head.

" _This is becoming unnecessary_." The man thought to himself, honestly annoyed by the circumstances.

Hopping up from his prone position, Jack drew his pistol and a throwing knife and held them in a sort of "close-quarters combat" position. As he did so, the Samurai started to eye his new opponent. The robotic bounty hunter resembled a human endoskeleton, armor plating placed in vital areas such as its chest, arms, and face. The man also noticed hidden blades within the armor plating and a possible hidden weapon in its chest armor, as Jack managed to make out a circular capsule on its person. He also made out the word "Kirill" on the robot's chest plate, which he figured was its name.

" _Well, Samurai Jack, you made it past that trap alive._ " Kirill said, " _The amount of time you'll still be alive, eh, i'm not so sure._ "

The Samurai, as always, didn't say a word in response. Instead, he stayed in his combat position, anticipating Kirill's first attack and preparing his own, wishing to end this latest encounter with a bounty hunter as cleanly and quickly as he could.

" _I'll skip the theatrics if that's better for you._ " The bounty hunter continued, getting serious, " _Aku wants you dead. Says you've been a thorn in his side for far too long._ "

His hidden blades were now unsheathed, glimmering in the dim sunlight allowed by the luscious forest surrounding the two.

" _So, he sent me after ya._ "

Kirill took a few steps forward, noticing Jack tense up as he got closer with every, metallic step leaving an obvious indent in the snow. Likewise, it revealed a clear indication that the latest bounty hunters' modus operandi was stabbing their targets when they got close and if that attack failed, utilizing whatever weapon was hidden within the circular capsule as a last resort. The Samurai knew this and waited for Kirill to get a bit closer.

" _You're not even moving?_ " The bounty hunter asked, " _That's alright with me, cause I get to claim that money!_ "

Kirill leapt at Jack and jabbed his right arm forward, intending to have the Samurai's face getting stabbed on the end of it. The bounty hunter didn't expect Jack to quickly move out of his way, however. The man quickly retaliated by jamming his throwing knife down onto Kirill's arm, following up by hitting him in the chest with his pistol before firing two shots into the robot's chest.

Unfortunately, Kirill broke free before Jack could lay down a headshot and jumped back a good distance away from him.

" _I knew that it wouldn't be that easy._ " He remarked, pulling the throwing knife out of his arm, " _Means Aku will be giving me a raise once I take you down._ "

Jack gritted his teeth in frustration, not appreciating the fact that the fight got a whole lot longer and possibly more difficult all because Kirill managed to get away from his headshot. He couldn't let his anger about this get to his head and thus, rushed at the bounty hunter, blasting away, with the knowledge of the Daughters of Aku waiting for him back at the Highlands overtaking any other thoughts in his mind.

 **The Highlands**

Even though Jack promised them that he wouldn't be gone for long and that it'd be a quick trip to the cave and back, the Daughters of Aku continued to sadly gaze the path Jack traveled down on his way to the caves. Although their guardian had promised them that he wouldn't take long with reobtaining the items they left behind at the cave, an aching feeling within them made them worry that Jack would get into a situation that he'd be unable to get out of. Despite their age and given their own experiences with bounty hunters out for the price on Jack's head, they were well aware that there were still people out there in the unfamiliar world who wanted him dead for Aku's sake. There was nothing they could do, however, besides waiting for Jack's motorcycle to re enter their line of sight, indicating that he came back.

"Aw, don't worry about Jack, lassies." The Scotsman told them, catching their attention, "The lad said tha' he'd be back soon."

"I want him to come back." Ashi replied, her sisters nodding in agreement.

"And he will." The man reassured, "There's a reason why the Samurai managed to survive this long, no matter what Aku threw at the laddie!"

They nodded in response, aware of Jack being a capable fighter and well adept in defending himself. Still, the fact that he wasn't there with them at the moment was what troubled them the most. However, the Scotsman was well aware that their worry for Jack's wellbeing was practically the only thing on their minds and being the good friend that he is to the Samurai, he was going to provide something for the Daughters of Aku to distract themselves with.

"If it'll help you wee lassies…" He started to say, "You can be with my girls until Jack comes back." The man offered, "I think they're done with ther' training for today."

The offer was an enticing one, considering the girls felt comfortable within the company of the Scotsman Daughters. Without much hesitation, the girls nodded in confirmation before following the wheelchair bound man to where his girls were staying at, having already honed their combat skills for the day. Currently, they were staying inside their personal quarters.

"What now?" Bonnie asked, sitting in a chair next to Flora, unsure of what do after the training session ended.

"I'm sure tha' Dad might need some help around the Highlands." She replied, looking over the sword she practiced with.

"GIRLS!"

The nearly identical sisters all perked up upon hearing their father call out for them, recognizing the tone of his voice as one that states "I need to tell you something important". Without a second thought, all twenty nine girls stepped outside to find their father waiting for them with Jack's seven little girls standing by idly.

"Yes, Dad?" Flora asked.

"Girls, why don' ya keep Jack's wee lassies company till he comes back?"

"Okay!" The girls agreed with a smile, inviting the Daughters of Aku into the house.

From that point on, the Scotsman's Daughters essentially acted as temporary babysitters for Jack's girls. However, they were well aware that simply having them sit there wouldn't be an enjoyable time for both groups. To pass the time, they started to show certain possessions of theirs that they knew the girls have never seen before. A few of them began taking a special interest in what they were being shown.

"What's that?" Aki asked, pointing at the capsule in Nora's hand.

"Hm, this? This is wha' we call makeup, lassie." She replied, giving it to the little girl to allow a better look, "Makes you look prettier."

"Gotta stay beautiful, y'know." Innes said joked from another part of the house.

Analyzing the contents inside the capsule and after processing the comments made by the older girls, Aki decided that one day, she'd like to own some makeup of her own. Handing it back, she joined her other sisters, who were looking at a blade within a sheath held by Avi's.

"What does this do?" The girl asked as she looked the item over, noticing blue streaks which headed towards the base of the angle.

"It's one of them wee electric daggers." Gesha replied, "I think."

"This is pretty cool, right?" Avi asked her fellow sisters.

"I… guess." Anzi replied, not really sharing her sisters sudden enthusiasm for the piece of weaponry.

"I don't see why it's so cool." Ali added, crossing her arms.

"Guess you lassies like different things." Edme noticed, having thought previously that the girls were most unanimous when it came to their opinions on things they came across.

Ashi took in Edme's comment and realized something she didn't before. Previously, she and her sisters appeared to be essentially the same because the life they were forced to live by the Cult of Aku and the life they lived on the run with Jack didn't allow them to become their own person. However, now that they could comfortably live in the Highlands without worry, they could become their own person hopefully without any more trouble.

As her mind thought about Jack, she also began to worry about the reason for him not coming back to the Highlands despite what he told them.

 **The Cave**

The battle with the latest bounty hunter out for the price on Jack's head had gone on longer than it should've been, all because Kirill managed to avoid a killing blow that Jack's pistol would've given him. Now, that battle turned into the Samurai firing shots off in the hope that his latest opponent would die before he did, while said opponent attempted to slash him up close with his blades, only to have his target move out of his way before a killing blow could be laid down.

" _Stand still!_ "

Lunging forward once again, Kirill jabbed both his arms forward, having a clear pathway to Jack's vital organs. Unexpectedly, the Samurai leapt into the air and kicked the bounty hunter in his face, sending him flying back considerably. He didn't wait for the robot to recover and sent some more rounds in Kirill's direction, the ensuing gunfire tearing apart the inner machinations of the machine. It wasn't like he was unaware of the damage being caused to his person and unlike others of his kind, sought self preservation, got to his his feet, and dodged the gunfire to leap behind some boulders.

" _I ain't done!_ " Kirill snarled from behind cover.

Jack didn't respond, nor did he care. In fact, he saw the bounty hunter taking cover as a mistake on his part and quickly leapt over the boulders, the belief of the battle being over as soon as the Samurai capped the bounty hunter in the head grew more apparent. However, as he landed in front of Kirill, the man felt the impact of two energy blasts impact his chest. No damage was caused to his person besides tearing holes in his armor. The blasts hurt though and were enough to knock the man down. As he attempted to get up, Jack noticed a weapon resembling a small cannon sticking out of the bounty hunters chest.

" _I always have a Plan B!_ " Kirill smirked, shakingly getting back to his feet.

Another energy blast was fired, nearly missing Jack's head. Disoriented, the Samurai began pulling the trigger to his pistol as another energy blast was sent flying towards his prone body. He only felt one round fly out of his gun and as he reoriented himself, he saw that the firearm had been blown in half, the top half landing on the snow next to him.

Letting out a yell of frustration, the man quickly got to his feet and seeing no more use for his firearm threw it to the side. Several more blasts were fired by the bounty hunter and with no immediate access to a weapon, Jack had to dodge them. Although his dodging appeared as a simple avoidance of his foe's deadly blasts, the endgame was getting close enough to Kirill to take him out with essentially only his fists.

Kirill charged up another shot from his chest blaster but suddenly, Jack grabbed onto its barrel and twisted it to prevent another shot from firing, while also bringing the robot closer for a quick head butt. The bounty hunter, although disoriented from the attack, didn't allow Jack to follow up with a counter attack and broke free, retaliating with slashes from the outstretched blades on his arms.

It was at this point where all the finesse and tactical considerations from both fighters fell apart, the fighting style between Kirill and the Samurai devolving into a series of kicks, punches, swipes, attempted stabs, and occasional blocks as the two laid out as much punishment as they could in hopes that their opponent would drop dead before they did. Suddenly, as Jack threw a punch aimed for the bounty hunters head, Kirill ducked low and stabbed the man in the abdomen. This time, the armor did little to protect him but besides a grunt of pain, Jack ignored it. However, Kirill's next move was grabbing Jack's outstretched arm and using it as leverage to hoist him over his head before throwing him towards the side of the cave.

Predictably, the Samurai hit the side of cave very hard and very sickening thud, landing on the snow covered ground afterwards, being in too much pain to get up and continue the fight. Still, he was conscious enough to see the bounty hunter land right in front of him and from the robot's posture, he could tell that he thought the battle was won.

" _Well, well, I guess I win._ " Kirill snarked, prepping his blades for a quick and clean kill.

This appeared to be the end for the Samurai but he soon felt something by his side. As he looked down, he noticed that he still possessed his electric whip, even after every other weapon was destroyed or taken out of his reach. Wasting none of the little time he had before certain death, Jack grabbed it and flung the electric strip towards the bounty hunter, which coiled around its neck.

" _WHAT TH-_ " He choked out.

Jack quickly followed this up by pulling the robot towards him and using the leverage of the pull, got up and drew his other pistol that he kept hidden from his opponent, pulling the trigger as he aimed for his head. Sparks and oil flew out of the robot as it was effectively decommissioned, the former domain of Kirill going limp. Jack threw the body to the side and sighed in relief, having won a battle he honestly didn't want to fight.

" _How long must this go on for?_ " He thought to himself, honestly tired of the many fights and skirmishes he would get into no matter where he went.

He was at least glad to have survived, despite the damage he took during the fight and without any more delay, headed into the cave to acquire the items he came there for, grabbed them, and left on his motorcycle without ever looking back. The next stop was the Highlands, with the objectives of patching himself up, seeing what the girls were up, and deciding who'd he be recruiting

 **I'm… sorry that I wasn't able to update the story. I tried but I was going through a rough time these past few months, Junior year being what it is. I'll still try to finish it but don't expect things to drag out longer than they need to. So, that's why in the next chapter, Jack recruits everyone he wishes to recruit for Scotsman's army. Anyways, summertime is here so hopefully I can just update as much as I can within the span of these three months to just finish this story. See you guys later with the next chapter.**

 **BTW: Everyone who's being recruited was everyone who was in the finale**

 **P.S: Forget what I said about making a cover. I've decided that it's too much of a hassle anyways. So, enjoy Mitchell from Hunt Down the Freeman being the cover of this story.**


End file.
